Voice Treatment Option 7. Voice Treatment Server. User s Guide

Transcription

1 Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Server User s Guide

2 The information contained herein is proprietary and confidential and cannot be disclosed or duplicated without the prior written consent of Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. Copyright Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. About Genesys Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of Alcatel, is 100% focused on software for call centers. Genesys recognizes that better interactions drive better business and build company reputations. Customer service solutions from Genesys deliver on this promise for Global 2000 enterprises, government organizations, and telecommunications service providers across 80 countries, directing more than 100 million customer interactions every day. Sophisticated routing and reporting across voice, , and Web channels ensure that customers are quickly connected to the best available resource the first time. Genesys offers solutions for customer service, help desks, order desks, collections, outbound telesales and service, and workforce management. Visit for more information. Each product has its own documentation for online viewing at the Genesys Technical Support website or on the Documentation Library CD, which is available from Genesys upon request. For more information, contact your sales representative. Notice Although reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information in this document is complete and accurate at the time of release, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., cannot assume responsibility for any existing errors. Changes and/or corrections to the information contained in this document may be incorporated in future versions. Your Responsibility for Your System s Security You are responsible for the security of your system. Product administration to prevent unauthorized use is your responsibility. Your system administrator should read all documents provided with this product to fully understand the features available that reduce your risk of incurring charges for unlicensed use of Genesys products. Trademarks Genesys and the Genesys logo are registered trademarks of Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries.all other trademarks and trade names referred to in this document are the property of other companies. Technical Support from VARs If you have purchased support from a value-added reseller (VAR), please contact the VAR for technical support. Technical Support from Genesys If you have purchased support directly from Genesys, please contact Genesys Technical Support at the following regional numbers: Region Telephone North and Latin America or support@genesyslab.com Europe, Middle East, and Africa +44 (0) support@genesyslab.co.uk Asia Pacific support@genesyslab.com.au Japan support@genesyslab.co.jp Prior to contacting technical support, please refer to the Genesys Technical Support Guide for complete contact information and procedures. Ordering and Licensing Information Complete information on ordering and licensing Genesys products can be found in the Genesys 7 Licensing Guide. Released by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. Document Version: 70vt_us_server_ _v1.00

3 Table of Contents Chapter 1 About This Document... 7 Intended Audience... 7 Chapter Summaries... 8 Document Conventions... 9 Related Resources Making Comments on This Document Chapter 2 Introduction Product Overview VTO s Role in the Genesys Solution Enterprise Routing Interaction Among Multiple VT Servers Call-Processing Flow Architecture VT Server VT Manager Architectural Diagram System Requirements Genesys Software Products and Time Synchronization Overview Possible Scenario Recommendations Chapter 3 Configuring and Deploying VTO Pre-Deployment Requirements Installing the VTO Configuration Wizard Configuring VTO Starting VTO Wizard Adding VT Servers Configuring VT Server Deploying the Installation Package Changes in VTO Configuration Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 3

4 Table of Contents Chapter 4 Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Locally Using the VT Server Control Panel Windows Services Control Panel Using the Command Line Managing VT Server Remotely Chapter 5 Components and Concepts About Scripts About Script Nodes About Voices About Actions General Errors Chapter 6 Creating and Managing Voice Files Getting Voice Recordings into VTO Identifying Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings Recording Formats and Encoding Parameters Importing Existing Recordings Importing Number Sets Renaming and Modifying Voice File Properties Creating Language Recordings Deleting Voice Files Recording and Managing Voice Files over the Phone Setting Up The Voice Recording Script Using the Built-in Voice Recording and Editing Script Chapter 7 Extension Actions Extension Actions Implementing Extension Actions Parameters Return Values Important Programming Considerations Extension Action Example Chapter 8 Registering Actions Actions Tab Built-In Actions Extension Actions Voice Treatment Option 7

5 Table of Contents Unregistering Actions Appendix A Monitoring and Logging Monitoring Through the Management Layer Logging SNMP Monitoring Appendix B VTO Demo Mode Simulating VTO Functionality Configuring and Installing VTServer for Demo Mode Using VTO in Demo Mode Appendix C VT Server Application Object Content Introduction General Tab Server Info Tab Tenants Tab Start Info Tab Connections Tab Security Tab Annex Tab Options Tab VT Server Configuration Options General Section Channels Section Log Section Recording Section Statistics Section T1 Signaling Section Appendix D Sample Test for Extension Action DLLs Appendix E Full Text of Built-In Voice Recorder Prompts Appendix F Configuring Multiple Demo Channels Index Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 5

6 Table of Contents 6 Voice Treatment Option 7

7 Chapter 1 About This Document Welcome to the Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Server User s Guide. This guide introduces you to the concepts, terminology, and procedures relevant to Voice Treatment Option (VTO). This document describes Voice Treatment Server (VT Server), which is the server component of VTO 7.0. This guide is valid only for the 7 release(s) of this product. Note: For versions of this guide created for other releases of this product, please visit the Genesys Technical Support website, or request the Documentation Library CD, which you can order by from Genesys Order Management at orderman@genesyslab.com. This chapter contains these sections: Intended Audience on page 7 Chapter Summaries on page 8 Document Conventions on page 9 Related Resources on page 10 Making Comments on This Document on page 11 Intended Audience This guide is primarily intended for users of the Genesys Voice Treatment Option, and specifically for those who install, configure, maintain, and administer the server side of the product. This guide assumes that you have a basic understanding of and familiarity with: Computer-telephony integration (CTI) concepts, processes, terminology, and applications Network design and operation Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 7

8 Chapter 1: About This Document Chapter Summaries Familiarity with your own network configurations Your telephony hardware and software Genesys Framework architecture and functions Configuration Manager interface and object-managing operations Chapter Summaries In addition to this opening chapter, this guide contains these chapters and appendices: Chapter 2, Introduction beginning on page 13, provides an overview of the VT Server including its architecture and system requirements. Chapter 3, Configuring and Deploying VTO beginning on page 23, discusses how to configure and deploy VTO. Chapter 4, Running and Managing VT Server beginning on page 71, discusses how to run and manager VT Server. Chapter 5, Components and Concepts, beginning on page 79, discusses the components that make up VT Server and the concepts underlying it. Chapter 6, Creating and Managing Voice Files beginning on page 83, discusses how to create and manage voice files. Chapter 7, Extension Actions beginning on page 95, provides information on Extension Actions. Chapter 8, Registering Actions beginning on page 99, discusses how to register actions. Appendix A, Monitoring and Logging beginning on page 105, discusses how to monitor and log VT Server activity through the management layer. Appendix B, VTO Demo Mode beginning on page 111, describes VTO in the demo mode. Appendix C, VT Server Application Object Content beginning on page 119, describes the content of the VT Server Application object. Appendix D, Sample Test for Extension Action DLLs beginning on page 135, provides a sample test for the Extension Action DLLs. Appendix E, Full Text of Built-In Voice Recorder Prompts beginning on page 137, provides the full text of the built-in Voice Recorder Prompts. Appendix F, Configuring Multiple Demo Channels beginning on page 141, describes how to configure VT Server s output from multiple demo channels. 8 Voice Treatment Option 7

9 Chapter 1: About This Document Document Conventions Document Conventions This document uses some stylistic and typographical conventions with which you might want to familiarize yourself. Document Version Number A document version number appears at the bottom of the inside front cover of this guide. Version numbers change as new information is added to this guide. Here is a sample version number: 70fr_ref_ _v1.00 You will need this number when you are talking with Genesys Technical Support about this product. Type Styles Italic In this document italic is used: When a term is being defined. Example A customary and usual practice is one that is widely accepted and used within a particular industry or profession. For emphasis. For example, Do not use this value for this option. For variables, for example, x +1 = 7 where x stands for... Monospace A monospace font, which is shown in the following examples, is used for: All programming identifiers and GUI elements. This convention includes the names of directories, files, folders, paths, scripts, dialog boxes, options, fields, text and list boxes, all buttons including radio buttons, check boxes, commands, tabs, CTI events, and error messages; the values of options; logical arguments and command syntax; and code samples. Examples Select the Show variables on screen check box. Click the Summation button. On the Properties dialog box, enter the value for the host server in your environment. In the Operand text box, enter your formula. Click OK to exit the Properties dialog box. The following table presents the complete set of error messages T-Server distributes in EventError events. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 9

10 Chapter 1: About This Document Related Resources If you select true for the inbound-bsns-calls option, all established inbound calls on a local agent are considered business calls. For any text the user must manually enter during a configuration or installation procedure: Example Enter exit at the command line. Correction of Errors in Screen Captures Screen captures taken from the product GUI (graphical user interface) and used in this document may sometimes contain a minor spelling, capitalization, or grammatical error. The text accompanying and explaining the screen captures corrects such errors. Use of Square Brackets In any logical arguments, commands, and programming syntax presented in this document, square brackets are used to indicate that a particular parametric value is optional. That is, the value is not required to resolve a command, argument, or programming syntax. The customer/user decides whether to supply a value and what that value is. Here is a sample: smcp_server -host [/flags] Use of Angle Brackets Angle brackets are used to indicate that a value in a logical argument, command, or programming syntax is required, but that the user must supply the data for the value. Because the value is specific to an individual enterprise for example, DNs or port numbers the program cannot predict (that is, program in) what the value is. Here is a sample: smcp_server -host <confighost> Related Resources Consult these additional resources as necessary: Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Manager User s Guide, which will help you use the Voice Treatment Manager. The Genesys Technical Publications Glossary, which ships on the Genesys Documentation Library CD and which provides a comprehensive list of the Genesys and CTI terminology and acronyms used in this document. 10 Voice Treatment Option 7

11 Chapter 1: About This Document Making Comments on This Document The Genesys Migration Guide, also on the Genesys Documentation Library CD, which contains a documented migration strategy for Genesys product releases 5.x and later. Contact Genesys Technical Support for additional information. The Release Notes and Product Advisories for this product, which are available on the Genesys Technical Support website at Information on supported hardware and third-party software is available on the Genesys Technical Support website in the following documents: Genesys 7 Supported Operating Systems and Databases Genesys 7 Supported Media Interfaces Genesys product documentation is available on the: Genesys Technical Support website at Genesys Documentation Library CD, which you can order by from Genesys Order Management at orderman@genesyslab.com. Making Comments on This Document If you especially like or dislike anything about this document, please feel free to your comments to Techpubs.webadmin@genesyslab.com. You can comment on what you regard as specific errors or omissions, and on the accuracy, organization, subject matter, or completeness of this document. Please limit your comments to the information in this document only and to the way in which the information is presented. Speak to Genesys Technical Support if you have suggestions about the product itself. When you send us comments, you grant Genesys a nonexclusive right to use or distribute your comments in any way it believes appropriate, without incurring any obligation to you. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 11

12 Chapter 1: About This Document Making Comments on This Document 12 Voice Treatment Option 7

13 Chapter 2 Introduction This chapter provides an overview of the product and includes the following sections: Product Overview, page 13 Architecture, page 18 System Requirements, page 20 Genesys Software Products and Time Synchronization, page 21 Product Overview Genesys Voice Treatment Option (VTO) is an innovative client-server application that works with Genesys Enterprise Routing to apply pre-routing information collection and queue-call treatments to incoming calls. It is fully integrated within the Genesys framework. For example, VTO enables you to design and run an automated script that work with Enterprise Routing to: Greet each caller with a recorded message. Prompt the caller for an account number. Use the account number to retrieve customer records from a database. Prompt the caller with choices of departments to which to speak. Transfer the customer to the most appropriate agent queue based on both the entered digits response and account history. Play music or any other message if no agent is immediately available. Play one or more voice messages if the caller waits for a specified period, defined by one or more timeouts. Transfer the call to an available agent with information to facilitate an account-based screen pop. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 13

14 Chapter 2: Introduction Product Overview You can write and store any number of custom scripts to handle different kinds of calls, and specify in Enterprise Routing strategies which treatment script a call receives. The Voice Treatment Option has two components: 1. Voice Treatment Server (or VT Server) is the server piece that works with Enterprise Routing to process inbound calls that use voice treatment scripts. These scripts are designed and stored in the Configuration Database. 2. Voice Treatment Manager (or VT Manager) is the graphical user interface client that you use to build and maintain call treatment scripts. Voice Treatment Option works with Enterprise Routing and T-Server to provide two important services: 1. Pre-routing Information Collection VTO enables Enterprise Routing to collect data, such as account numbers or menu preferences, from callers. This information is attached to the call so that Enterprise Routing can use it to make more intelligent call-processing decisions. 2. Queuing Call Treatments VTO helps Enterprise Routing define voice treatment for and apply voice treatments to queued calls. Numerous voice treatments can be combined in any sequence with other call-handling actions such as transfers, holds, timeouts, and terminations. VTO is fully integrated with Genesys T-Server, Enterprise Routing, DB Server, and Stat Server. It is also fully compliant with the Configuration Layer. When a script is created in VT Manager, the building blocks are actually database objects stored and cross-checked in the Configuration Database, and the finished script is also stored as a Configuration Database object. This ensures that all script components work together easily and reliably. It also enables you to use multiple instances of VTO concurrently, without risking configuration-data integrity or the correct performance of the scripts. Moreover, all contact center configuration changes are automatically distributed to the VT Server, allowing you to redefine the center s configuration on demand, without restarting VTO. VTO s Role in the Genesys Solution Voice Treatment Option is completely integrated into the standard Genesys framework. T-Server tracks all telephony events at the DNs registered as VTO voice-processing ports. This enables T-Server to apply routing strategies via Enterprise Routing and record statistics via Stat Server. The following sections provide more detail on how VTO interacts with other Genesys components. 14 Voice Treatment Option 7

15 Chapter 2: Introduction Product Overview Configuration Layer Both VT Server and VT Manager are integrated with the Configuration Layer. Every time VT Server starts, it retrieves configuration information from Configuration Server, along with information about scripts. If any contact center objects including scripts, voices, and actions are changed, added, or deleted, Configuration Server notifies VT Server and these changes take effect immediately. VT Server connects to Configuration Server and reads its configuration settings and the configuration of the surrounding T-Server Framework. For multi-tenant environments, VT Server determines which tenants are registered to use its service and reads their scripts and components. VT Server also registers for change/delete notifications from Configuration Server for all of the objects that constitute its configuration. Under normal operation, VT Server maintains permanent connections to Configuration Server. Updates to configuration settings, including script changes or the addition of new scripts, voice files, or actions made by VT Manager or other VT Servers, are processed and take effect immediately. If VT Server fails to connect to Configuration Server, it continuously tries to connect to both the primary and backup (if configured) server, and begins its normal operation when Configuration Server becomes available. If the connection to Configuration Server is broken, VT Server continues to process calls. However, changes made to the VT scripts do not take effect until VT Server reconnects to Configuration Server. After reconnecting, VT Server rereads the entire configuration, including any changes that were made while the connection was broken. As soon as VT Server rereads the configuration, the changes take effect. Interaction with T-Server VT Server always determines (from the configuration) the VT ports and corresponding T-Servers to which it is connected. Although in most cases VT ports are controlled by one T-Server, VT Server can connect to multiple T- Servers. At startup, VT Server connects to all T-Servers that control its ports and registers for event notifications on corresponding DNs. At this point the VT Server can monitor activity on its ports through the T-Server. All calls arrive at the VT ports via a route point monitored by Enterprise Routing, with a routing strategy that incorporates a VTO script. When a call arrives at a VT port, the T-Server controlling that port notifies VT Server about the call. If the call was routed to a VT port by Enterprise Routing, the call s attached User Data contains the ID of the script to be played for this call. All of T-Server s user data is read into the script s internal variables. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 15

16 Chapter 2: Introduction Product Overview Enterprise Routing The flow of call processing is specified by the script, data attached to the call upon its arrival to the VT Port, and data collected from the caller. While processing caller input, VT Server appends it to the T-Server s call data for further processing by other Genesys Framework components. Eventually VT Server either transfers a call to a specified DN or terminates the call, depending on the requirements of the applied script. The other possibility is that the call may be terminated by the caller. In either case, VT Server receives notification from T-Server to hang up the line. Automatic Reconnect Feature If a T-Server becomes inaccessible, VT Server ceases to receive notifications about incoming calls and will not respond to calls on the VT ports controlled by the failed T-Server. In this case, VT Server continuously tries to reconnect to the failed T-Server and its backup (if configured). As soon as the T-Server becomes available, VT Server automatically restores its normal behavior. Similarly, if the connection with Configuration Server is ever lost, VT Server will not receive notifications about contact center configuration changes. In this case, unlike a T-Server disconnect, VT Server continues operating normally and performs a continuous reconnect procedure until it reconnects, at which time the configuration information is updated. VT Server does not connect directly to Universal Routing Server (URS). Rather, URS uses routing strategies that contain references to call treatment scripts. As mentioned above, whenever a script is created in VT Manager, the script object is stored in the Configuration Database and becomes available as an object that can be referenced by any routing strategy using Interaction Routing Designer. This allows the creation of strategies that send incoming calls to VTO, which applies specified treatment scripts. Interaction Among Multiple VT Servers The following sections discuss the interaction among multiple instances of VT Server on separate hosts. Distributed Server Architecture You can run multiple VT Servers on separate hosts on the network. Starting with VT Server version , multiple VT Servers can also run on the same host. Unless multiple instances of VT Server are configured to share their recording storage, each instance automatically distributes the physical voice files and custom extension DLLs among the others. In effect, this allows multiple VT Servers to behave as a single distributed VT Server. 16 Voice Treatment Option 7

17 Chapter 2: Introduction Product Overview Call-Processing Flow Whenever you use a VT Server to acquire a new voice file either by recording or importing it The VT Server creates a descriptor of this file and stores it (the descriptor, not the file itself) in the Configuration Database. Configuration Server notifies its clients, including any other VT Servers, about the creation of this new object. The voice file descriptor contains a reference to the VT Server that created the voice file. Secondary VT Servers connect to the originating VT Server and request the new file. In the end, each running VT Server has its own copy of the file. Object Synchronization VT Server also has a built-in mechanism to synchronize the object repositories for all instances whenever they are running. At startup, every VT Server reads all voice descriptors and checks for the presence of corresponding recording files. If a file is absent from its local voice directory, VT Server connects to the originating VT Server and requests that file. In this way, all recording files are replicated even among VT Servers that were not running when the file was created. Voice file descriptors are used to count local copies of a file. When you use VT Manager to delete a voice file, the file s corresponding descriptor is first marked for deletion. All VT Servers receive a notification to remove their local copies of the file, each lowering their count until the last VT Server that lowers the counter to zero deletes the descriptor from Configuration Server. If any VT Server that has a copy of the file is not running, the voice file descriptor remains in Configuration Server until that VT Server starts. A similar scheme is used to replicate Extension Action DLLs. When you register an extension action with VT Server, the DLL implementing the action is copied into VT Server s program directory. Then, an action descriptor is created in Configuration Server and its DLL is replicated among all VT Servers. However, DLLs are not deleted from VT Server s program directory when an action is unregistered. Whenever Enterprise Routing sends a call to a VT port, the routing strategy also specifies which script the VTO should play for that call. When the call arrives, VT Server picks up the line and starts to execute the specified script, performing specified actions at sequential points called nodes. The call begins at the main entry node, usually a recording that greets the caller. The script then proceeds from one node to the next. At any given node, there may be one or more possible outcomes, which are represented as branches in the script. The script will follow one branch or another depending on the outcome of the caller s response to the previous node. For example, a number of possible events can occur in response to a voice prompt. The caller can: Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 17

18 Chapter 2: Introduction Architecture Select one of the available options (for example, 1 for product information, 2 for Tech Support). Press an invalid digit by mistake. Do nothing until the specified timeout expires. The script defines what happens in any of these cases a selection response (transfer to the queue for the agent group selected, for example); an invalid error branch, playing a message asking the caller to choose again; or a timeout branch, requesting the caller to respond in some way. All branches of all strategies end with some kind of termination event, either by looping back to some point elsewhere in the script, transferring the call to some DN, or terminating the call. Architecture VT Server VT Manager VT Server applies voice treatments to inbound calls. VT Manager s graphical user interface (GUI) is used to build and maintain the treatment scripts that VTO uses to process calls. The following is a more technical description of each of these components. VT Server is the daemon application that carries out voice-processing activities as defined in VT Manager scripts. It does so via its integration with the T-Server, Enterprise Routing, and Configuration Server. VT Server also provides the mechanism for creating new voice files available for use in treatment scripts. You can either import existing audio files or record new ones. VT Manager does not connect directly to VT Server. Instead, the server relies exclusively on the Configuration Database for all scripts, script elements, and contact-center configuration information that it needs to apply treatments to calls. This ensures data integrity and the proper configuration of all objects, and it gives all applications in your configuration environment access to the finished scripts. VT Manager provides a standard GUI environment through which you Define and manage voice treatments that can be applied to inbound calls Build and store the scripts Treatments consist of voices that represent audio files that can be recorded and played to callers in any order, and actions that handle the call. A set of standard actions hang up, transfer, and return is supplied with the Voice Treatment 18 Voice Treatment Option 7

19 Chapter 2: Introduction Architecture Architectural Diagram Option and is made available for use via VT Manager. You can also create custom actions using the Extension Actions feature. Once you create and save a script using VT Manager, it is stored as a database object in the Configuration Database. The script then becomes immediately available for call processing via other Genesys software, such as Interaction Routing Designer (IRD). With VT Manager, you can also copy portions of one script to another, or create a duplicate script and use it as a template for other scripts. Figure 1 illustrates the interactions between VTO and the other components of the Genesys CTI environment. Inbound Trunk Univ. Routing Server Routing Strategies Int. Routing Routing Designer Telephony Link PBX CTI Link Call Control Info IR Configuration Data Configuration Data Digitized Voice Data T-Server Configuration Data Config Database Config Server Configuration Data Config Manager Call Info Call Control Requests User ID Information Voice File Descriptions Script Descriptions VT Manager Dialogic Board VT Server VT Configuration Info Script Descriptions Voice File Descriptions Figure 1: The Voice Treatment Option Architecture As shown in Figure 1, the VT Server connects to both the telephone switch serving the contact center and to the computer network. Note: Along with the regular TCP/IP network connection, VT Server also requires the connection to the telephone switch through the telephony network. VT Server runs on a computer equipped with one or more Dialogic boards. Each Dialogic board connects to the switch through one or more line-side telephony links. Digitized voice data flows between VT Server and the switch through the telephony links. Each telephony link supports a set number of Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 19

20 Chapter 2: Introduction System Requirements voice channels (24 channels for a T1 link, for example), and each voice channel is bound to a dialing number (DN) on the switch. In order for a DN to run VTO scripts, it must be defined as a VT port. Call management is performed through one or more T-Servers, which are (as usual) connected to the switch via a CTI link. VT Server also connects to Configuration Server, which stores script components for the Voice Treatment Option and notifies VT Manager and VT Server about changes to their objects. Multiple VT Servers on different hosts can interact through the TCP/IP network to exchange copies of voice recordings and script components. VT Server interacts with Enterprise Routing indirectly via T-Server s call user data. Direct TCP/IP connection to Enterprise Routing is not required. System Requirements A VT Server requires the following: The appropriate Operating System. For information about Operating Systems and other requirements, refer to the Genesys 7 Supported Operating Systems and Databases. Host-sizing requirements: A VT Server runs on any PC where Windows NT and Dialogic can run. The disk space consumed by the Server program is minimal, but you need enough space to hold all of your voice files. CPU power requirements depend on the number of ports you have and the call volume. For high-density configurations, use a SCSI disk subsystem. One or more Dialogic voice boards with on-board digital and/or analog telephone interface, with required software drivers and runtime libraries installed. Note: This is optional for Demo Mode. See Appendix B, VTO Demo Mode on page 111. For Demo Mode: sound card with speakers/earphones and microphone - supported by the Windows native audio subsystem. Genesys License Manager, accessible through a TCP/IP network and the license file. Note: This is optional for Demo Mode. Genesys Configuration Server, Release 6.5 or higher, accessible through a TCP/IP network. One or more Genesys T-Servers, Release 6.5 or higher, accessible through a TCP/IP network. 20 Voice Treatment Option 7

21 Chapter 2: Introduction Genesys Software Products and Time Synchronization Note: This is optional for Demo Mode. However, a Generic T-Server connected to a Generic Switch Simulator is required. When configuring multiple VT Servers, each server requires a connection to the other over a TCP/IP network. Genesys Local Control Agent (LCA) 6.5 or higher running locally and Genesys Management Layer components running on the network. (Optional to be manageable with the Genesys Management Layer). Genesys Message Server 6.5. or higher (Optional for logging into the log database). For using the SNMP monitoring features, an SNMP Network Management System must be installed. Genesys Software Products and Time Synchronization Overview Possible Scenario This section discusses how time synchronization may affect the operation of your server. Over the past several years, Genesys software has gained increasing importance for many organizations. Significant efforts are expended in completing implementation and upgrades of Genesys and CRM software. Genesys provides guidance to our customers for issues relating to performance, optimizations, customer acceptance, and system security. Ultimately, the responsibility for successful operation of the Genesys software lies with the Genesys administrator and the representatives of the customer s Information Systems organizations. Genesys software uses a multi-tiered client server computing model. For example, a customer request for information via a telephony component or an Internet device may interact with several different components from multiple computer systems. A typical call flow could be similar to the following: 1. Customer contacts the company. 2. Call arrives into a database-enabled IVR. 3. The IVR requests a customer account number. 4. Using the account number, a customer profile is retrieved. 5. The profile is joined with the customer contact history. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 21

22 Chapter 2: Introduction Genesys Software Products and Time Synchronization Recommendations 6. Using SQL queries, the date of the last call is retrieved from the Genesysenabled data. 7. Additionally, data is calculated to determine the number of seconds since the last call. 8. Using the Genesys API, the information is attached as Key Value Pairs. 9. For Priority queuing purposes, the start time is captured. 10. The call is processed by Genesys ERS. 11. Any call waiting longer than 300 seconds is increased in priority. 12. The call is transferred to an agent after six minutes. 13. Upon answering, the user data from the key value pair stream is updated by the soft phone or thin client. In the above example, more than four time calculations from four different systems were performed in a span of less than ten minutes. Each time element is reported by the local system. Genesys has learned of several instances where expected data, including contact information and agent performance reports could be skewed by inaccurate time synchronization between multiple systems. Genesys is aware of the production implementation where the dates on systems were found to be incorrect. While individual corporate policies may vary, Genesys strongly recommends that serious consideration be given to time management on individual hosts. As a rule of operation, hosts should be synchronized to the same minute and second. On the surface, this requirement may seem rather difficult to accomplish. Genesys software, like most other software components depend on the time functions enabled and visible in the host operating system(s). The Network Time Protocol (NTP) makes synchronization possible. 22 Voice Treatment Option 7

23 Chapter 3 Configuring and Deploying VTO The chapter provides information on how to configure and deploy VTO and includes the following sections: Pre-Deployment Requirements, page 23 Installing the VTO Configuration Wizard, page 24 Configuring VTO, page 24 Changes in VTO Configuration, page 68 Pre-Deployment Requirements Voice Treatment Option (VTO) works with Enterprise Routing and Framework to provide two important services: 1. Pre-Routing information collection 2. Queueing call treatments Genesys recommends that you deploy and configure VTO as an optional component of Enterprise Routing Solution. You may also choose to deploy VTO components independently from Enterprise Routing and, optionally, associate them with the Enterprise Routing Solutions later. Before deploying VTO, you must deploy and configure Genesys Framework with at least one switch and a supporting T-Server. Use the Genesys Common Wizard Set for Framework deployment. The Common Wizard Set should be installed on a computer that you regularly use for configuring and deploying components of the Genesys suite. If you plan to configure VTO in conjunction with Enterprise Routing, you must also have both Universal Routing and VTO Configuration Wizards installed on the same computer. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 23

24 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Installing the VTO Configuration Wizard You must also know the details of your telephony connections. Specifically, identify which telephone number (DN) is connected to each input of the Dialogic card (for analog lines) or corresponds to each T1/E1 time slot (for T1/ E1 connections). If you are using a T1/E1 connection, you should also know the details of signaling on your line side T1/E1. For more details, see Voice Channels on page 40 and T1/E1 Signaling R4 Mode on page 44. Installing the VTO Configuration Wizard Start deploying VTO by installing the VTO Configuration Wizard on the computer with the Genesys Common Wizard Set, and optionally, the Genesys Universal Routing Configuration Wizard. Even if you already have a VTO Wizard installed, run its Setup to ensure that you are using the latest version. To eliminate the need for the computer to reboot after the Wizard installation, make sure that Configuration Manager, the Wizard Manager, and all open Configuration Wizards are closed. To install the VTO Wizard: 1. Run Setup from the root directory of the VTO product CD. The Setup installs the VTO Configuration Wizard and updates all necessary components of the Framework configuration. If requested, reboot the computer before proceeding. Configuring VTO The following section describes how to configure VTO using the VTO Wizard. Each section describes what you must do in particular window of the VTO Wizard. Note: The VTO Wizard may be updated with every maintenance release of VTO. The look and the sequence of the wizard dialog boxes that you see in this document may be slightly different. Additional dialog boxes may appear to reflect newly added features or options. If you notice a difference between this document and the Wizard, follow the wizard s instructions. Also, see the VTO Wizard Advisory and the VT Server release notes for details on changes in the wizard. Starting VTO Wizard The way you start the VTO Wizard for the first time depends on whether you are deploying VTO as an option of Enterprise Routing or independently. In both cases the VTO Wizard will help you to deploy VTO components and create a configuration environment to run them. The only difference is, if you 24 Voice Treatment Option 7

25 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO configure VTO within the Enterprise Routing Solution, VTO components will be associated with this specific solution, so they can be managed as part of this solution in the Configuration Management Layer. VTO components deployed independently can be associated with the Enterprise Routing Solution after the initial deployment and configuration process is complete. Starting the VTO Wizard to Deploy VTO as Option for Enterprise Routing Solution You may select to deploy VTO while you are deploying Enterprise Routing Solution. To do so, you have to select the Voice Treatment Option checkbox on the Solution Options page of the Universal Routing Wizard. The Universal Routing Wizard will launch VTO Wizard. If you have Enterprise Routing Solution already configured, to start VTO Wizard and deploy VTO within the existing Enterprise Routing Solution: 1. Start the Genesys Wizard Manager. 2. Login to the configuration from the opening window of the Wizard. 3. Select the Enterprise Routing link on the left-side of the window. The right-side of the window displays Enterprise Routing (see Figure 2 on page 26). 4. In the list of installed Enterprise Routing solutions, select the solution in which you plan to deploy VTO; then, click Properties. This opens the properties of the selected solution. 5. Click the Options tab and select Voice Treatment Option (see Figure 3 on page 27). Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 25

26 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 2: Genesys Wizard Manager Enterprise Routing 26 Voice Treatment Option 7

27 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 3: ERS Properties 6. Click Install. This starts the Genesys Voice Treatment Option Wizard (see Figure 4 on page 28). Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 27

28 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 4: Genesys Voice Treatment Option Wizard Starting the VTO Wizard to Deploy VTO Independently from Enterprise Routing To start the VTO Wizard and deploy VTO independently from Enterprise Routing: 1. Start the Genesys Wizard Manager. 2. Login to the configuration from the opening window of the Wizard. 3. Select the Voice Treatment link on the left-side of the window. The rightside of the window displays the Voice Treatment page. See Figure 5 on page Click the Install link. See. This starts the Genesys Voice Treatment Option Wizard. 28 Voice Treatment Option 7

29 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 5: Genesys Voice Treatment Installation Wizard Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 29

30 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Adding VT Servers The first dialog box of the wizard allows you to configure and deploy Voice Treatment Servers. See Figure 6. Figure 6: Genesys VTO Wizard Voice Treatment Servers If the VTO Wizard was started from the Enterprise Routing Solution Properties dialog box, this screen will list only Voice Treatment Servers associated with this specific solution. If the Wizard was started directly from the Wizard Manager, the screen will list all Voice Treatment Servers configured within the Configuration Database, regardless of whether the servers are associated with any solution or not. You may install multiple VT Servers on several hosts or on the same host. When you install several VT Servers on the same host, they must be configured to share the host s Dialogic resources and they may be configured to share voice recordings. When you install multiple VT Servers serving the same Tenant on different hosts, they will replicate their recordings, and in this way, they can effectively act as a single distributed server. To deploy a new VT Server, click Install or the Add button. 30 Voice Treatment Option 7

31 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Note: If you are configuring VT Servers for the Enterprise Routing Solution and you have already installed VT Servers which are unassigned to this solution, the Install... button on this page will be replaced with the Add... button. Clicking Add... will launch the Browse for Application (Voice Treatment Server) dialog box. Use this dialog box to associate an already configured VT Server(s) with the Enterprise Routing Solution or to deploy a new VT Server. In the later case, use the New... tool on this dialog box. This displays the Genesys Voice Treatment Server Wizard. See Figure 8 on page 32. Figure 7: Genesys VT Server Wizard Browse for Application Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 31

32 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Configuring VT Server Figure 8: Genesys VT Server Wizard The following describes how to configure VT Server. The next sections are arranged according to the wizard screen order of the current release. After following the instructions on each screen, you will generally have to click Next to advance to the next screen. 32 Voice Treatment Option 7

33 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO VT Server Name Figure 9 shows the Voice Treatment Server Name screen. Figure 9: Genesys VT Server Wizard Voice Treatment Server Name Enter a unique name for the new VT Server, by which it will be known in the configuration. Once configured, this name will appear in the VT Server Control Panel, and will be used by VT Server at startup to retrieve its configuration settings from the Configuration Database. You can also specify the folder in the configuration where the application configuration object will be located. Note: If you launched the Wizard from the Browse dialog box, the folder is defined by the current selection in the Browse dialog box and cannot be changed on this page. However, you can change the location later. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 33

34 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Host and Port Figure 10 displays the Server Information screen. Figure 10: Genesys VT Server Wizard Server Information Specify the host on which you want to install VT Server. Unless you only plan to use VT Server in Demo mode, and before you install VT Server on that host, the host must already have Dialogic hardware and software installed on it. If you plan to install more than one VT Server to serve the same tenant, assign the port number to this server. Assigning a non-zero port enables voice recording replication between multiple VT Servers. Other VT Servers installed on the network will use this port to obtain voice recordings from this server. As with any TCP/IP application, the specified port must not be assigned to any other application running on this host. If you do not plan to use more than one VT Server for the same tenant, set the port to Voice Treatment Option 7

35 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Deploying the Installation Package After the name and target host for VT Server are defined, you can deploy the installation package. See Figure 11. Figure 11: Genesys Voice Treatment Server Source and Destination Select the Source containing the VTO product CD image. This may be the CD containing the VTO product CD or the network directory containing the VTO CD image. Note: When you point the VTO Wizard to the source CD image, the wizard locates the installation package suitable for the operating system of the target host. If the operating system of the target host is not supported by VT Server, you will not be able to proceed. Note: The wizard determines the version of the VT Server distributed on the CD you pointed to as the source. If the wizard detects an earlier version of VT Server, the options which were unavailable in this earlier version will be disabled on the subsequent wizard pages, and some pages which configure earlier unavailable functions, will be skipped. You may also receive a warning that there is a newer version of the wizard. If you do, this means that the wizard you are using is Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 35

36 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO out of date. In this case, it is recommended that you cancel the deployment, and install the latest version of the wizard from the CD you just selected as the source, and repeat the previous steps of the deployment with the latest version of the wizard. Point to the destination where the wizard will copy VT Server s installation package. The selected destination must be writable from your computer and can be read from the host where you plan to install VT Server. When you click Next, the wizard copies the VT Server installation package from the product CD to the destination you specified in Figure 11 on page 35. Figure 12: VT Server IP Package Was Installed Successfully After the installation package has been copied to the destination that you just specified, you should install VT Server from this location by running the Setup on the target host. Along with the installation package, the wizard places the reference to the Application object it creates in the configuration, so that when you run the Setup on the VTO host, the Setup is able to read the configuration data from this object and place local settings on the target computer accordingly. The wizard creates the Application object in the configuration in the Disabled state. When you actually run the Setup and successfully install VT Server, the Setup enables the Application object to indicate that the server was actually 36 Voice Treatment Option 7

37 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO installed. Do not reuse the installation package that was copied by the wizard for another instance of VT Server. Tenants The Voice Treatment Server Tenants screen (see Figure 13) appears only in multi-tenant environments. For single-tenant environments, the wizard will make all necessary changes automatically. Figure 13: Genesys VT Server Wizard Voice Treatment Server Tenants Select the Tenants (one or more) that will be served by this VT Server. Only scripts and voice recordings which belong to the selected Tenants will be accessible to this VT Server. Note: The wizards configure VT Server to run under the system configuration account. By default, the system account only has read access to all objects in the configuration, including the Script folders. To record and import new voice files and register new actions, VT Server requires write permissions for these folders. The wizard changes the security settings of the Script folders which belong to the tenants you select so that VT Server can write into these folders. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 37

38 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Operators The Operator screen, shown in Figure 14, appears next. This screen allows you to assign VTO voice recording operators. Figure 14: Genesys VT Server Wizard Operators This screen contains the UserName and Person IDs of those people who will have access to the Tenant recordings. These users can listen, create new recordings, and modify existing recordings by using VT Server s built-in voice management script. When an operator calls to access VTO built-in voice management scripts, the operator is asked to enter his/her Person ID. In a multi-tenant environment, the operator is also asked to enter the numerical ID of the Tenant whose recordings he/she wants to manage. If you create a new Person object in the configuration, make sure the Person is not an agent. The list of VTO recording operators is common for all VT Servers. Therefore, if you have already configured operators for other VT Servers, they also appear in this list. 38 Voice Treatment Option 7

39 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Voice Connection Type Figure 15 displays the Voice Connection Type screen. Figure 15: Genesys VT Server Wizard Voice Connection Type Select the type of telephony connection for this VT Server. Real telephony connections are served through Dialogic cards. These channels are licensed. You must have the license file for the number of real telephony connections to be served. The Simulation mode allows the playback of VTO scripts and use of VT Server s built-in voice management script through the Windows sound subsystem of the VT Server s host. The Simulation mode requires a Generic T-Server and a generic switch simulator installed and running within the Genesys Framework. VT Server does not require licenses for its simulation channels. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 39

40 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Voice Channels The next screen represents the most crucial point of configuring VT Server. You must complete this part of the configuration properly or the configuration may not work correctly. See Figure 16. Figure 16: Genesys VT Server Wizard Voice Channels In this screen, specify the exact correspondence between the Dialogic voice channels and the telephone numbers connected to them. The Dialogic channel dxxxb1c1 (refer to the Dialogic documentation for Dialogic device naming conventions) in VTO has the number 0, channel dxxxb1c2 is 1, and so forth up to the maximum number of voice channels present on your host. Telephone numbers on the switch are represented by the DN objects in the configuration. The DN objects used by VTO must be created as DNs of the type Voice Treatment Port. You should know which physical line (for an analog connection) or T1/E1 time slot (for T1/E1 lines) connected to your Dialogic card corresponds to each DN on the switch. To add a single channel click Add. As you become familiar with the meaning of the channel properties, use Add Range to create ranges of channels at one time. Clicking Add opens the new Channel properties dialog box. See Figure 17 on page Voice Treatment Option 7

41 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 17: Channel Properties When you add a channel to VT Server s configuration, you instruct VT Server to use the Dialogic channel defined by the Channel Number and let the Server know that this channel corresponds to the Associated DN you specified. VT Server has no means of detecting the association automatically. If the channel is specified incorrectly, VT Server will attempt to answer an incoming call on the wrong T1/E1 channel (or analog line). As a result, the calls will not be answered. Dialogic channels which are not in the VT Server s Channels list will not be used by this VT Server and may be used concurrently by other VT Servers installed on this host or any other Dialogic applications which allow perchannel use of the Dialogic resources. Two VT Servers with the same configured channel numbers should not run concurrently on the same host. In the Channel Number field, enter a non-negative Dialogic channel number. For simulated Demo channels use negative numbers. Use the Browse button to the right of the Associated DN field to select the DN corresponding to this channel. Only DNs of type Voice Treatment Port that are not yet assigned to this VT Server s channels are shown in the Browse dialog box. If you have not yet created VTPort DNs, you may do so at this time by clicking New within the Browse dialog box. The DNs assigned to the real Dialogic channels (non-negative channel numbers) should belong to Switch objects that correspond to real switches. DNs for Demo channels should be allocated on the simulated switch supported by a generic T-Server and a switch simulator. The Default Script field is optional. It allows you to specify which script is executed on this particular port if a call arrives at the port without the proper Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 41

42 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO specification in the call data. Instead of specifying the Default Script individually for each channel here, on the Script Playback Options screen of the wizard you can specify the same script for all configured channels at one time, later in the configuration. Places and Place Groups In order to use VTO treatments within routing strategies, each VTPort DN should be associated with a Place, and all of the Places should be joined in a Place Group. This Place Group will be referred to in routing strategies as the routing target. The wizard creates the Place object for each configured channel and a single Place Group that joins all the Places. See Figure 18. Figure 18: Genesys VT Server Wizard Places and Place Groups These objects are created first in the wizard s memory. At this point, if needed, you can modify the default Places and Place Groups before they are actually created in the configuration. As you click Next, the Places and the Place Group are stored in the configuration and remain there even if you cancel the wizard. 42 Voice Treatment Option 7

43 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Call Control Mode VT Server receives notifications and manages incoming calls through two complementary channels: A CTI link via T-Server and The Telephony network (analog, T1/E1, and so on) via a Dialogic API. T-Server converts various CTI link protocols into the switch-independent T- Library protocol, which allows VT Server, like numerous other Genesys applications, to uniformly operate CTI links of multiple telephony switches. Of course, telephony network protocols also vary based on the network and switches it uses. The next screen of VT Server configuration allows you to select between two essentially different mechanisms VT Server will utilize to perform its call control functions on the telephone network side. Figure 19: Genesys VT Server Wizard Call Control Mode In the Traditional mode, VT Server performs its call control functions detection of an incoming call, answering the call, disconnecting the call, and detection of remote disconnect through the legacy lower-level Dialogic API called R4. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 43

44 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO The R4 mode can be selected for SpringWare Dialogic boards only. VT Server implements the subset of robbed-bit/cas signaling protocols with digital lines through direct manipulation of the signaling bits. If you select the R4 mode, you will be required to specify bit transition for outbound off- and on-hook commands, and optionally, inbound signals that correspond to calls arriving and calls disconnecting. With analog lines, calls are controlled through the Off/ On-hook commands, and optionally, calls can be detected by monitoring Ring/ Release line signals. In the R4 mode, network signaling used to perform some or all call control functions can be replaced with CTI link requests and events. The new call control mode that was introduced in VTO utilizes a highlevel Dialogic API called GlobalCall (see Figure 19 on page 43). The GlobalCall API, which is made available through the Dialogic software, isolates Dialogic applications, such as VT Server, from the specificity of network protocols as well as from different architectures of Dialogic hardware. It allows applications to uniformly perform their call control functions, while the specificity of the network protocols and hardware is handled by the Dialogic GlobalCall software layer. The GlobalCall mode can be used with a wide variety of Dialogic boards and network signaling protocols. In this mode, the call control protocol is completely managed by the Dialogic GlobalCall stack rather than VTO. In addition to the Dialogic drivers, firmware and configuration files, this mode requires the GlobalCall stack to be installed and properly configured to match the signaling protocol of the switch-side telephony network interface board. With some types of Dialogic boards and network protocols you may also need to install the Dialogic GlobalCall Protocols Package, which is distributed separately from the Dialogic drivers. In this case, identify the specific Protocol Name for your Dialogic board type and network protocol, which is referred to as gc_openex() Protocol Name in the Protocols Package documentation. T1/E1 Signaling R4 Mode The following two dialog boxes appear only if you are configuring VT Server in the R4 call control mode with T1 or E1 lines. This is an important step of VT Server configuration for T1/E1 because VT Server uses the signaling conventions to answer incoming calls and hang up the line after completing call processing. By default, VT Server uses robbed-bit signaling, which involves four special bits (named A, B, C, D). To signal Off-Hook to the switch, VT Server sets some of these bits On, some Off, and some are left unchanged. The convention of which bit transitions signal Off- and On-Hook states varies depending on the network interface card installed on the switch side of your T1/E1 connection. See Figure 20 on page Voice Treatment Option 7

45 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 20: Genesys VT Server Wizard Outbound Signaling The default settings suggested by the wizard are not always the correct settings. Consult your T1/E1 line provider or telephony personnel serving your switch to determine the correct settings. Failure to set signaling options to the correct values for your specific switch prevents VT Server from answering the calls and/or freeing the lines after completing call processing. Instead of (or, in extremely rare instances, in addition to) using robbed-bit signaling, you can enable VT Server to answer calls and hang up through the CTI link by employing TAnswerCall and TReleaseCall T-Server commands. You should only use this in cases where robbed-bit signaling does not work, and the switch supports these commands. Consult your telephony personnel prior to using this configuration. The next screen configures inbound signaling options for VT Server, which defines how T-Server detects incoming calls. By default, VT Server uses CTI events received from T-Server to detect calls and call disconnects. This works in most cases and needs to be changed only for some specific switches (for example, the Rockwell Spectrum) which do not provide an indication of Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 45

46 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO incoming calls through the CTI link (Ringing TServer event) until the call is answered. See Figure 21. Figure 21: Genesys VT Server Wizard Inbound Signaling Enabling inbound signaling detection requires you to specify (in terms of bit transition) which signal VT Server should treat as an incoming call, and which signal identifies a call disconnect. If you enable inbound signaling, the default settings suggested by the wizard may not always work. Consult your telephony personnel for the correct settings. Failure to set signaling options to the correct values for your specific switch prevents VT Server from detecting incoming calls or call disconnects, unexpectedly terminates the calls, or makes T1/E1 lines unavailable for service without any calls being served. By default, VT Server starts playing the script as soon as the call is detected and the Ringing event is received. Call Detection and Release on Analog Lines (R4 Mode) The screen in Figure 22 on page 47 display only if you are configuring VT Server in the R4 call control mode with analog lines. 46 Voice Treatment Option 7

47 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 22: Genesys VT Server Wizard Inbound Call Detection By default, VT Server uses CTI events received from T-Server to detect incoming calls and call disconnects. This works in most cases and needs to be changed only for some specific switches (for example, Rockwell Spectrum), which do not provide an indication of incoming calls through the CTI link (Ringing TServer event) until the call is answered. In such cases, you must enable analog ring detection. If you enable ring detection, you can also specify the number of rings VT Server will wait before answering the call. In most cases the default value of 0 (zero) makes VT Server answer incoming calls immediately, if VT Server has determined that this is the best option. Similar to incoming call detection, you can enable VT Server to use loop current drop on the analog lines to detect call releases. You can enable this release detection if VT Server in the analog lines works with a switch that does not generate EventReleased and/or EventAbandoned on the CTI link. Enabling this option also ensures that VT Server frees its channels upon remote call release even in the case of a CTI link or a T-Server connection malfunction. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 47

48 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Transfer Method The next step you will to select the transfer method VT Server will use to transfer calls. See Figure 23. Figure 23: Genesys VT Server Wizard Transfer Method This setting takes effect only for the switches that support both methods. If your switch supports only one of these methods, VT Server uses the supported method regardless of this setting. Call Control Options and Timeouts The next page allows you to modify some aspects of VT Server s call control behavior and the timeouts it uses while controlling calls. In most cases, the default settings suggested by the wizard allow VT Server to function correctly and in synchronization with the switch. You will only need to change the default value if you experience any timing problems. 48 Voice Treatment Option 7

49 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 24: Genesys VT Server Wizard Call Control Options If you have enabled incoming call detection through the telephony lines in R4 Call Control mode or use the GlobalCall call control, when VT Server detects an incoming call, it answers the call and waits for the Ringing CTI event, which brings the ID of the script that is used to treat the call. Optionally, other data can be attached to the call and passed to the script. If the Ringing event does not arrive within the time interval you specify, VT Server assumes that this is an error, plays back the system error announcement, hangs up the call, and frees the line. Depending on the method you have selected for answering the calls, the answer command may be asynchronous. VT Server waits for its completion before it starts playing back the script. The answer timeout option specifies how long VT Server waits for answer completion before it assumes that an error was encountered and it resets the channel. By default, the VT Server starts playing back the script as soon as it successfully answers the call and receives the script ID with the Ringing CTI event. On some switches, this may occur before the switch actually completes establishing a voice channel for the call. In some scenarios, this may cause the front part of the call s first recorded playback to be lost. In this case, you can set VT Server to wait for the confirmation of successfully established calls from the CTI link before starting the playback recording. On some switches, this option may cause an undesirable pause at the beginning of the recording Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 49

50 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO playback. If you decide to enable this option, specify the timeout that is suitable for your environment. If you enable call disconnect detection through the telephony lines in the R4 Call Control mode or use the GlobalCall call control, by default, VT Server frees a corresponding channel and makes it available for the next call as soon as it detects call disconnect. In some cases, however, it is necessary to wait for the CTI Release event to complete call processing. This can occur if the switch supports only Single-Step Transfer and VTO s own Estimated Wait Time calculations are used. In this case, the CTI Released event is the only source of information regarding why the disconnect occurred, if call disconnect is enabled. When you enable the call disconnect detection, make sure that you specify a timeout that is suitable for your environment. Script Playback Option In most cases VTO is used in conjunction with Enterprise Routing. When a call that is sent by the Universal Routing Server to VTO for treatment arrives at the VT Port, it must be accompanied by a special attached key-value pair, Myscript=<script_ID>, This key-value pair defines which script VTO executes to treat the call. This pair is normally attached by the routing strategy that routes calls to VTO for treatment (for details, refer to the Routing with Scripts chapter in the Voice Treatment Option Voice Treatment Manager User s Guide.) The arrival of a call without the script specified in its data normally indicates and error in the routing strategy. The Default script option allows you to specify which script is played for such calls. The Default script setting may be overwritten for each channel in the Channel Properties dialog box (see Voice Channels on page 40). 50 Voice Treatment Option 7

51 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 25: Genesys VT Server Wizard Script Playback Options The options to limit the script playback time and the number of script nodes VT Server processes for each call are used mainly for script troubleshooting. These options allow you to free the VT channels in case communication is disrupted on the CTI link or between VT Server and T-Server, and to avoid channel locks by erroneous loop-like scripts. See Figure 25. Recording Options Recording options defined the file format, encoding algorithm, and parameters VT Server will use for recording new voice files. See Figure 26 on page 52. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 51

52 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 26: Genesys VT Server Wizard Recording Options As the file is recorded, these parameters are stored in the Voice File Description configuration object for the VOX format in the file itself for the WAV format and re-submitted to the underlying layer when the file is played back. VT Server does not change the format or recording parameters of already existing (previously recorded or imported into VTO) files. Recordings are always submitted for playback to the underlying sound subsystem (Dialogic or Windows Multimedia) in the original format. An attempt to record or playback a file will fail if you are using a format/encoding that is not supported by the underlying software or hardware. The wizard allows you to select an encoding algorithm from the set shown in Table 1, Encoding Algorithms, on page Voice Treatment Option 7

53 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Table 1: Encoding Algorithms Code Encoding Dialogic Data Format ID Windows Waveform FormatTag id Default Bits/ Sample 8 Linear PCM DATA_FORMAT_PCM WAVE_FORMAT_PCM (0x0001) 8 7 G.711 Mu-Law PCM DATA_FORMAT_MULAW WAVE_FORMAT_MUL AW (0x0007) 8 3 G.711 A-Law PCM DATA_FORMAT_ALAW WAVE_FORMAT_ALA W (0x0006) 8 1 Dialogic ADPCM DATA_FORMAT_DIALOGIC_ADPCM WAVE_FORMAT_DIAL OGIC_OKI_ADPCM (0x0017) 4 d GSM 6.10 Microsoft compatible DATA_FORMAT_GSM610 WAVE_FORMAT_GSM 610 (0x0031) n/a 4 G.726 DATA_FORMAT_G726 WAVE_FORMAT_G726 _ADPCM (0x0064) 15 G.721 DATA_FORMAT_G721 WAVE_FORMAT_G721 _ADPCM (0x0040) 10 TrueSpeech DATA_FORMAT_TRUESPEECH WAVE_FORMAT_DSPG ROUP_TRUESPEECH (0x0022) 4 4 n/a In Table 1, the column titled Dialogic Data Format ID is the identifier assigned to the encoding by Dialogic. The Code column is its numeric (hexadecimal) value. When recording a new file with Dialogic, VT Server uses this ID to specify the required encoding. When recording is made in the Simulation mode with a Windows Multimedia subsystem, the Microsoft identifier listed in the Windows Waveform FormatTag ID column is used. Some encoding algorithms allow you to use different bits per sample setting You may explicitly specify this setting or leave this field blank and use the default value listed in the Default Bits/Sample column. Some encodings available for selection in the wizard may not be supported by your Dialogic card. Consult your Dialogic documentation to ensure that the selected format and recording parameters are supported by your specific board model. Simulation through the sound card uses codecs available in the Windows Multimedia subsystem. Genesys recommends that you use the following Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 53

54 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO settings for the Windows Multimedia subsystem: WAV, Linear PCM, 8, or 11KHz. Note: Dialogic (OKI) ADPCM and Microsoft ADPCM are different encodings. The default set of Windows codecs does not support Dialogic ADPCM encoding. In addition to the encodings listed in Table 1, Encoding Algorithms, on page 53, you can specify any other Dialogic Data Format ID by entering its hexadecimal representation as defined in the dxxlib.h Dialogic header file into the Encoding algorithm field. Some of the encodings are listed in Table 2. The Bits Per Sample setting must be explicitly specified for these encodings. These values will be delivered transparently to the dialogic API layer. Note however, that the recordings in these formats cannot be played back through the Windows Multimedia subsystem. Table 2: Encodings Code Encoding Dialogic Data Format ID Windows Waveform FormatTag id c G.729A DATA_FORMAT_G729A Not Supported e GSM ETSI standard framing DATA_FORMAT_GSM610_ETSI Not Supported f GSM ETSI TIPHON it order DATA-FORMAT_GSM610_TIPHON Not Supported 11 G.711 A-Law 8-bit rev. 12 G.711 A-Law 16-bit rev. 13 G.711 Mu-Law 9-bit rev. 14 G.711 Mu-Law 16-bit rev. DATA_FORMAT_G711_ALAW_8BIT_R EV DATA_FORMAT_G711_ALAW_16BIT REV DATA_FORMAT_G711_MULAW_8BIT _REV DATA_FORMAT_G711_MULAW- 16BIT_REV Not Supported Not Supported Not Supported Not Supported 16 G bit rev. DATA_FORMAT_G721_8BIT_REV Not Supported 17 G bit rev. DATA_FORMAT_G721_16BIT_REV Not Supported 18 G bit rev. - nibble swap DATA_FORMAT_G721_16BIT_REV_NI BBLE_SWAP Not Supported 54 Voice Treatment Option 7

55 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO When VT Server records a message through Dialogic, it automatically stops recording if it detects continuous silence for the duration that you specified in the Silence timeout field. You may disable this feature by entering 0 here. Silence detection is not supported in the Simulation mode. Recordings Location The Recording location specifies the path to the directory where VT Server stores its voice files. This can either be an absolute path or the relative path to the location of the VT Server s executable. See Figure 27 on page 56. By default, the VT Server Setup installs the system voice files into the VoiceData subdirectory created under VT Server s program directory. If you change this option from that default value, you must move the entire contents of the original location, including all subdirectories, into the new place you specify here. To change the voice directory location after the server is installed: 1. Stop VT Server. 2. Copy the original voice directory, including all of its contents with subdirectories into a new location. 3. Ensure that the new directory is accessible to VT Server for reading and writing. 4. Change the value of the VoiceDir option in the VT Server Application object. 5. Restart VT Server. For performance reasons, do not place the voice directory on drives that are accessed from VT Server s host through the network. Multiple VT Servers installed on the same host may share their recordings location. If multiple VT Servers on the same host use different recording locations, they will replicate new recordings the same way they would between different hosts on a network. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 55

56 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 27: Genesys VT Server Wizard Recordings Location Statistical Calculations Options For queuing treatment scenarios, VT Server calculates the average estimated time the caller is expected to wait in queue before a live agent becomes available. This estimation is calculated using the average time previous calls were treated with the queuing scripts before they were transferred from VTO by the routing strategy. The dialog box in Figure 28 on page 57 allows you to specify the way VT Server calculates the average and plays the estimated wait time to the caller. 56 Voice Treatment Option 7

57 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 28: Genesys VT Server Wizard Statistical Calculations Method To participate in VTO s statistical calculations, the calls, on arrival at VTPorts, must have attached a special key-value pair, Myqueue = <queue_name> This pair specifies the name of the queue to which the call belongs. It is usually attached to the call by the routing strategy that sends the call to VTO for the queueing treatment. For each unique queue_name, calculations are made independently. Calls with different values of Myqueue do not affect each other s statistics. Statistics for calls without a specified queue name (for example, calls placed directly to VTO ports without prior processing by the routing strategy) are not calculated; enhanced queueing functionality is not available for such calls. Only calls transferred from VTO ports are included in the calculation. Abandoned calls or calls terminated by VTO scripts do not participate. VTO provides only an approximate estimation of the queue wait time. This estimation is based on the assumption that incoming calls are queued only with VTO, and are treated to the queueing script only once. The estimation is not applicable if the calls are queued on VTO more than once, or are subjected to any other queueing treatments before or after they are processed by VTO. Each VT Server performs calculations only on the calls it processes itself. If a queue is supported by more than one VT Server, VTO calculations may not be reliably used. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 57

58 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO VTO calculations are approximate and may not coincide exactly with the estimations calculated by Stat Server. Stat Server is the specialized and more precise tool for performing statistical functions. Use Stat Server instead of VTO s own statistical functionality whenever possible. When a recording is played back to the caller, the calculated estimated time in the queue is rounded to the nearest whole number. By default, values less than 30 seconds are represented as seconds, values over 30 seconds are rounded to the nearest minute. Use the Round estimated wait time option to specify a value other than zero to change the default rounding. For example, setting this value to 60 makes VTO round the estimated time to the nearest minute. If the calculated estimated time after rounding becomes zero, its playback is skipped. For example, if you set Round estimated wait time to 60 and the estimated time is less than 30 seconds, its playback is skipped. Logging VT Server employs the standard Genesys logging subsystem. The common log wizard allows you to configure VT Server s logging options. See Figure 29. Figure 29: Genesys VT Server Wizard Log Configuration 58 Voice Treatment Option 7

59 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Note: VT Server does not support logging into the console except when it is running in the Debug mode (as a console application). Connections When started, VT Server connects to the Configuration Server, one or more T-Servers, and if configured for logging into the network log server, to the Message Server. The wizard automatically lists these connections in the Connections screen (see Figure 30) and allows you to configure their parameters. Figure 30: Genesys VT Server Wizard Connections Figure 30 displays the connections list. You can use this list to enable Advanced Disconnect Detection Protocol (ADDP) for VT Server s connections to Configuration Server and T-Server. ADDP is the low-level protocol implemented on top of the TCP/IP connection. It allows both sides of the connection to detect a loss of connection in a timely manner where it would otherwise not possible because of limitations of the TCP/IP stack implementation. For more information on ADDP see the Genesys Framework 7 Deployment Guide for the T-Server you are using. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 59

60 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Connection to the Configuration Server is represented by the connection to the server named confserv, see Figure 30 on page 59. This is the configuration object which represents Configuration Server itself in the Configuration Database. This connection will not appear in the list if you have not specified the host for this configuration object. VT Server determines which T-Servers to connect based on the VTPort DNs you associate with VTO channels. You cannot add or remove connections in the list. The wizard will automatically update this list each time you modify the channels configuration. Message Server is listed only if you have enabled logging into the network log server. ADDP is not supported for this connection. To enable ADDP for a connection, double-click the connection in the list, this opens the connection s properties dialog box, where you can select addp as the Connection Protocol, specify Local and Remote timeouts and enable protocol tracing (see Figure 31). Figure 31: T-Server_DMS100 Configuration Object Properties 60 Voice Treatment Option 7

61 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Connections Failure Recovery The Connection Recovery options allow you to change VT Server s behavior in case it loses connection with T-Server. See Figure 32. Figure 32: Genesys VT Server Wizard Recovery Options In the Recovery Options window select one of the following options: Notify the caller about system error and hang up the calls This option is recommended for the majority of VTO application scenarios. If VT Server loses its connection to T-Server, calls cannot be transferred for further processing in the typical pre-routing information scenario, and the Universal Router cannot pick up calls from VTO s queuing treatment. Therefore, with this option selected, VTO notifies the caller of the system error and hangs up the call, which makes the most sense in the majority of cases. Continue processing calls This option may be selected in the scenario when VTO is used for complete self-service. For example, if the calls are not expected to be transferred from VTO to an agent or any other treatment. If you select this option, ensure that you have enabled call disconnect detection through the telephony line and set a reasonable limit for the time a call is allowed to remain on the VTO port. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 61

62 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Server Failure Recovery Features In the unlikely event of VT Server experiencing a failure of its main process, it has several failure recovery options you can set. See Figure 33. Figure 33: Genesys VT Server Wizard Failure Recovery Options If VTO experiences a failure it can be set to perform one of the following features: Transfer calls from the VT ports (served by a failed VT Server) to a specified DN for call recovery. Notify other Genesys components about the unavailability of the VT ports. Restart VT Server. An auxiliary watch dog process that runs on the same host as the main VT Server process and monitors the main process for a catastrophic event. In the rare circumstance that such a failure is detected, the watch dog process: 1. Connects to all T-Server initially connected by the failed VT Server and requests the immediate transfer of all calls served by the failed VT Server to a specified DN usually a routing point. A further call recovery plan may be defined by the Enterprise Routing strategy loaded on the destination Routing Point, which can transfer calls to an alternate VT Server. 62 Voice Treatment Option 7

63 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO 2. Notifies all other Genesys components about the unavailability of the VT ports to prevent further routing of calls to the failed VT Server. 3. Restarts the failed VT Server to restore the service. Note: The operating system and the Genesys Management Layer provide their own means for restarting failed services. To avoid a conflict, if you enable the Automatically restart the Voice Treatment Server option, the Wizard will disable the Management Layer s automatic restart for the VT Server. Do not enable this option if you use the operating system s option to automatically restart failed services. Advanced Options The Advanced Options dialog box allows you to see raw configuration options the way they would be configured manually with Configuration Manager (see Figure 34). The raw options are listed for your reference in Appendix C, VT Server Application Object Content on page 119. Figure 34: Genesys VT Server Wizard Advanced Properties for VT Server Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 63

64 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Use this dialog box to modify options only if this is suggested as a workaround in the release notes for VT Server or if this is recommended by Genesys Technical Support. Completing the VT Server Wizard Finishing the VT Server Wizard saves the final version of the VT Server s Application configuration object, and if you are configuring VTO associated with Enterprise Routing Solution, it adds a configured server to the list of the solution components. Figure 35: Genesys VT Server Wizard Completing the VT Server Wizard When you have finished the VT Server Wizard, you are returned to the Servers dialog box of the VTO Wizards (see Figure 36 on page 65). From the Servers dialog box, you may deploy another instance of VT Server or go on to configure VT Manager. 64 Voice Treatment Option 7

65 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 36: Genesys VTO Wizard Voice Treatment Servers Note: Until you install VT Server on the target host using the installation package prepared by the wizard, VT Server s Application object will remain disabled in the configuration. This is denoted in the servers list with an icon that appears crossed-out. Deploying VT Manager You can deploy VT Manager using the Voice Treatment Manger s dialog box. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 65

66 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 37: Genesys VTO Wizard Voice Treatment Managers To launch the VT Manager Configuration Wizard, click Add in the Voice Treatment Managers dialog box shown in Figure 37. This launches the VT Manager Configuration Wizard. The wizard guides you through the steps of deploying the VT Manager installation package and creates a corresponding Application object in the configuration. Unlike VT Server s installation package, the VT Manager installation package that is copied by the wizard may be reused for installations on any number of client computers. The sole purpose of the VT Manager configuration object is to store information that is used while logging into VT Manager in the configuration login. Make sure that all of the users installing VT Manager know the name of it s application object in the configuration. 66 Voice Treatment Option 7

67 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Configuring VTO Figure 38: Genesys VTO Wizard Voice Treatment Managers Completing the VT Manager Wizard returns you to the screen shown in Figure 38. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 67

68 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Changes in VTO Configuration Figure 39: ERS Properties When you complete the VTO Wizard, you are returned to the point in which you started the wizard. If you configured VTO in association with the Enterprise Routing Solution, the solution Properties dialog box displays the VTO component as in the Installed state (see Figure 39). Changes in VTO Configuration After you have completed the initial configuration and deployment of VTO, you can always use the VTO Configuration Wizard to modify VTO components configuration at a later time. There are several ways you can launch the wizard to configure already installed components. The Wizard Manager s Voice Treatment page provides the links for configuring and upgrading installed VTO components. The VTO components associated with the Enterprise Routing Solution can be configured from within the Options page of the solutions Properties. 68 Voice Treatment Option 7

69 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Changes in VTO Configuration Figure 40: VT Server Configuration Wizard configuration mode If you install the VTO Configuration Wizard on the VT Server s target host, you can launch the VT Server Wizard directly from the VT Server Control Panel, which is described in the next chapter. The VT Server Configuration Wizard can be launched from Configuration Manager by right-clicking the VTO Application object and selecting the Wizard > Configure context menu. All of these methods launch the same wizard in the configuration mode (See Figure 40), which helps you to consistently modify VT Server configuration to suit your specific needs. The Wizard keeps track of VT Server s options compatibility and mutual relationships, as well as provides you with the explanation of most options, and the applicable options to different VTO versions. In most cases, the Wizard helps you to prevent misconfiguration of VTO components. Alternatively, you may choose to modify VT Server s configuration object with Configuration Manager. This method gives you direct access to the content of the VT Server configuration object. Before starting this process, read Appendix C, VT Server Application Object Content on page 119. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 69

70 Chapter 3: Configuring and Deploying VTO Changes in VTO Configuration In general, changes in the VTO configuration are processed immediately and do not require you to restart VT Server. Changes become effective either immediately after submitting and saving them or they are applied to the next call which comes to VTO after the changes are saved. The Configuration Wizard will warn you if the changes you made require restart of VT Server. 70 Voice Treatment Option 7

71 Chapter 4 Running and Managing VT Server This chapter provides instructions for running and managing the Voice Treatment Server and contains these sections: Managing VT Server Locally, page 71 Managing VT Server Remotely, page 78 Managing VT Server Locally VT Server is implemented as a Windows NT service, and can be managed and monitored both locally as a regular NT service and remotely through Genesys Management Layer and/or Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Using the VT Server Control Panel VT Server may be started, stopped, and paused using any of the following methods: VT Server Control Panel Windows Services Control Panel Command line All these interfaces use Windows Service Control Manager and can be used interchangeably. As with any Windows NT service, you can configure the VT Server to start each time the computer is booted up by setting the service's Startup Type property to automatic. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 71

72 Chapter 4: Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Locally About the VT Server Control Panel The VT Server Setup installs a shortcut to the Voice Treatment Server Control Panel (see Figure 41) in the Programs\Genesys Solutions\Voice Treatment Option\Genesys Voice Treatment Server folder of the Windows Startup Menu. This is a utility that provides some useful controls over certain VT Server functions, including starting and stopping. The other functions of this utility are described in detail later in this guide. Figure 41: The Voice Treatment Server Control Panel Note: If you have multiple VT Servers installed on the same computer, notice the Control Panel s window title. It shows the Display Name of the VT Server service you are operating through this control panel. You cannot start more than one control panel for the same service. If the control panel refuses to start, and reminds you that this is another instance already open, find the currently open instance on another desktop or another terminal server on this computer. The VT Server Control Panel allows you to: Change the basic startup parameters stored locally Modify VT Server s configuration in the configuration database by launching the VT Server Configuration Wizard 72 Voice Treatment Option 7

73 Chapter 4: Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Locally Note: VT Server does not install the VTO Configuration Wizard on the Server s host. To use this functionality, you need to install the Wizard. Start, stop, pause, and resume the service Monitor the state and load of the service Determine the exact version of the VT Server executable Perform other server-side functions described in the next sections You can start or stop VT Server at any time: Open the General tab of the VT Server Control Panel, and click Start or Stop in the Server Status area. The Start and Stop buttons are dimmed whenever VT Server is in a pending state, that is, when a command to start or stop has been issued but not yet completed. Local Startup Parameters The VT Server Control Panel enables you to change the Server s startup parameters: Application Name (the name of the application object in the configuration, which represents this instance of VT Server) Host and Port of Configuration Server Location of the license file or the License Server s location in the form, <port>@<host> Service Startup type Changes to these parameters take effect only after you restart VT Server. Note: The startup parameters displayed and modified by the Control Panel are the ones stored locally in the registry. They are applicable only if VT Server is started locally. If you start VT Server through the Solution Control Interface, the Management Layer LCA uses startup parameters stored in the configuration and overrides locally stored parameters. To change the configuration copy of these settings, use Configuration Manager or the Voice Treatment Server Configuration Wizard. To avoid confusion, you should keep both copies of these settings synchronized. Modifying Configuration Parameters If the VTO Wizard is installed on the same PC as VT Server, the Configure button launches the VT Server Configuration Wizard, which allows you to modify VT Server's parameters stored in the configuration database. You can Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 73

74 Chapter 4: Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Locally also change the configuration parameters while VT Server is running. These changes are effective immediately with no need to restart VT Server. Note: The Wizard you launch from the Control Panel is a separate configuration client application. It connects directly to the Configuration Server using the login credentials you specify upon its startup. These credentials, the User name, Password and Application name should be the same as you use when launching Configuration Manager. The Application name should be the one of the Configuration Manager, not the one of the VT Server. Determining the Exact Version of the VT Server Executable The About... button shows the version information of the VT Server executable. Make sure you have the exact version of the executable available if you contact Genesys Technical Support with a problem. Switching Dependency from the Dialogic service The Depend on Dialogic setting determines whether or not VT Server is registered with the Service Control Manager as being dependent on the Dialogic service. Switch the dependency to Off only if you are using VT Server exclusively in the Demo Mode. Startup If VT Server is configured to depend on the Dialogic, the Windows NT Service Control Manager automatically starts the Dialogic service whenever VT Server is started. The Service Control Manager will not start VT Server if the Dialogic service is absent or fails to start. Additionally, VT Server requires at least one active T-Server, a connection to Configuration Server (to read the configuration), voice file descriptions, and scripts. If either T-Server or Configuration Server is not running, or if either is inaccessible when VT Server starts, VT Server reports a successful startup and continually attempts to reconnect to these servers. Once VT Server is started, it displays the total number of configured channels ready for use and the current number of busy channels on the status line. 74 Voice Treatment Option 7

75 Chapter 4: Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Locally Pause and Continue Use the Pause command to stop VT Server from accepting new calls. The processing of calls already accepted is not affected. When VT Server, in the paused state, completes call processing on one of its ports, it notifies other Genesys components by sending an EventOffHook for this port. This prevents the URS from sending new calls to the freed port. This way all the ports become idle. If you have more than one VT Server configured to service a single Place Group, you can use the Pause command to gradually phase out one VT Server for maintenance while shifting the load to another. This way you will not abruptly terminate any call and ensure uninterrupted service while performing system maintenance. Use the Continue command to allow VT Server to resume accepting new calls. When the idle VT ports are available again, VT Server notifies other Genesys components by sending an EventOnHook for each port. Stop and Shutdown When VT Server receives the Stop command, it interrupts the normal script processing flow. VT Server does this by playing the script's Error node (if defined by the script) or the System Error message (if the script has no Error node defined) and hanging up all calls. Upon receiving the Stop command, VT Server performs a set of functions, which includes: Proper completion of all served calls Release of T-Server resources Completion of network transmissions Closure of the network connections Release of local resources In specific situations, especially when some of the network connections are unavailable when the Stop command is issued; this sequence can require significant time. The shutdown time can vary depending on the implementation and configuration of the TCP/IP stack. During this time, all buttons on the Control Panel remain dimmed and the server appears to be nonresponsive. When VT Server receives the system shutdown event, it performs the same actions as the Stop command. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 75

76 Chapter 4: Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Locally Windows Services Control Panel Using the Command Line The Windows Services Control Panel or any other client of Windows Service Control Manager may be used to manage VT Server instead of using the VT Server Control Panel. VT Server can also be managed using the command line (see Table 3 and Table 4 for available commands and startup parameters, respectively): EAServer <command> <startup parameters> Table 3: Commands Command -sstart, -start -sstop, -stop -spause, -pause -sresume, -resume -v, -ver, -version -register -unregister -debug Description Starts the VT Server Service. Stops VT Server. Pauses the service. Resumes the paused service. Displays the VT Server version. Registers VT Server as a Windows NT Service. Unregisters VT Server as a Windows NT Service. The command to start VT Server in the debug mode as a console application for debugging purposes only. Not all functionality is supported in this mode. Table 4: Startup Parameters Parameter -host <gost_name> Description Configuration Server host name Default Value; Comments No default. Must be specified either in the command line or in the registry. -port <port> Configuration Server port No default. Must be specified either in the command line or in the registry. 76 Voice Treatment Option 7

77 Chapter 4: Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Locally Table 4: Startup Parameters (Continued) Parameter -app <app_name> -l <license_ file> -service <service name> Description Name of the application configuration object Path and name of license file or license server connection information in form Name of the Windows NT Service Default Value; Comments No default. Must be specified either in the command line or in the registry No default. Must be specified either in the command line or in the registry if the relative path is specified it is treated relative to the directory where VT Server is installed (that is, where the file EAServer.exe is located). Should contain the Service Name assigned to the VT Server by the Setup. The first VT Server installed on a host receives the default name, Voice Treatment Server. Subsequent instances get unique names like, Voice Treatment Server1, Voice Treatment Server2, and so forth. This parameter is mandatory in the Command Line stored in the VT Server s Application Configuration object. -DisplayName Use only with the - register command to specify the display name under which VT Server is shown in the Windows Services Control Panel. The first VT Server installed on a host receives the default name, Genesys Voice Treatment Server. Subsequent instances get unique names like Genesys Voice Treatment Server1, Genesys Voice Treatment Server2, and so on. -NoDialogic Use only with the - register command to specify that VT Server will be registered without being dependent on the Dialogic service. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 77

78 Chapter 4: Running and Managing VT Server Managing VT Server Remotely Note: If specified in the command line, the startup parameters override corresponding values stored in the registry. Managing VT Server Remotely VT Server may be managed and monitored remotely using the Genesys Management Layer and/or SNMP. Refer to the Genesys Management Layer documentation and the SNMP section. 78 Voice Treatment Option 7

79 Chapter 5 Components and Concepts About Scripts This chapter introduces the four basic concepts of VTO: scripts, nodes, voices, and actions. See the Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Manager User s Guide for an in-depth description of these concepts. This chapter includes these sections: About Scripts, page 79 About Script Nodes, page 80 About Voices, page 80 About Actions, page 80 General Errors, page 81 Later, when you open the GUI and explore the VT Manager s on-screen operation, it is essential that you understand VTO s four basic component objects, and their relationships to one another. All have certain similarities for example, they all possess both types and properties but they occupy a distinct logical hierarchy, which is important to understand. In the VT Manager user interface, you create treatments for incoming calls. These treatments consist of a sequence of points at which either a voice recording or some other event (depending on various factors you define) is applied to a call. These treatments are created and saved in scripts. A script is a predefined procedure for treating incoming calls. Scripts operate as predefined sequences of treatment events. A script is applied to an incoming call when the call arrives at a VT port. From this point, the call receives the sequence of treatment elements defined by the script s nodes, in the order the nodes are organized in the script. When the script reaches a termination node an action node that disconnects the call from VTO, for example, or transfers it to a DN the script terminates. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 79

80 Chapter 5: Components and Concepts About Script Nodes Note: VTO 6.5 and higher can process scripts created with earlier versions of VT Manager. However, to support the new features contained in VT Manager 7.0, you must use VT Manager 7.0 to create new scripts and modify existing scripts. About Script Nodes Scripts consist of many elements representing points at which you can define what happens to a call. These points are referred to as script nodes. Think of nodes as locations in the script, or points in the script sequence, for the objects that determine the treatments performed on calls. When you insert a treatment object (a voice or an action) into an existing script, VT Manager creates a node to represent that location in the script. In addition, it creates one or more empty nodes to hold the treatment object that comes next in the script. A new node is empty until you fill it with a treatment object or a reference to an object. Unfinished scripts necessarily contain empty nodes. Empty nodes, however, are not permitted in finished scripts. About Voices Voices are virtual representations of audio files. Normally, they contain voice messages, but they can hold any sound you want callers to hear at the appropriate time. You can record as many voice files as required, and define and store the corresponding voice objects in VT Manager. These files are then available to incorporate into any script as needed. Because VT Manager voices are only pointers to the actual voice files, once they are defined, you can use them in one or more scripts as often as you need them. About Actions After actions are registered by VT Server (the second VTO component), they are available in the VT Manager s Actions folder (see the Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Server User s Guide, Chapter 6 Extension Actions ). At this point, you can use them as building blocks that are applied to calls at any node in a script. 80 Voice Treatment Option 7

81 Chapter 5: Components and Concepts General Errors Actions have properties, but they are read-only. VTO recognizes three kinds of actions: Basic Built-in Extension General Errors If an error occurs while playing a script, VT Server attempts to play the script s Error node. If this node is not specified in the script, or an error occurs while playing the error node itself, VT Server attempts to play the system error message and hangs up the call. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 81

82 Chapter 5: Components and Concepts General Errors 82 Voice Treatment Option 7

83 Chapter 6 Creating and Managing Voice Files This chapter provides information on how to create and manage voice files. It includes the following sections: Getting Voice Recordings into VTO, page 83 Identifying Voice Files, page 84 Importing and Managing Recordings, page 84 Recording and Managing Voice Files over the Phone, page 92 Note that before you or your tenant customers can use Voice Treatment (VT) Manager to build any treatment scripts, you must: create and configure the voices that the script will play; or provide network access to VT Server s Voice and Program Directories for VT Manager users to import new voices on their own. Getting Voice Recordings into VTO Voice files are configuration objects that represent audio recordings physically stored on the hard drives of the host where VT Server is located. Voice recordings can be acquired for use in Voice Treatment Option (VTO) in two ways: By importing existing audio recordings By recording new ones through VT Server s built-in editing facility Either procedure creates or places recording files in the VT Server s storage and simultaneously registers the recordings in the configuration. This makes them available through VT Manager and triggers replication of physical recordings among multiple VT Servers. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 83

84 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Identifying Voice Files Identifying Voice Files Whenever you add a new recording to VTO, a unique numeric ID and name are assigned to it. Numeric IDs are the initial means of identifying new recordings. They are assigned when new recordings are acquired and can never be changed. Besides Numeric IDs, VTO generates recording names. Generated names are unique and non-descriptive. Unlike numeric IDs, the names may be changed at any time without the risk of sacrificing data integrity. Rename newly acquired voice files to reflect their actual content using the VT Server Control Panel or VT Manager as soon as voice files are created. The descriptive names must remain unique. If you try to rename a new voice with the same name as an existing one, an error message displays, prompting you to use another name. This prevents you from accidentally replacing a voice that is already in use by one or more scripts, which could cause undesirable results. While the descriptive names are good for identifying voice files within VT Manager and other GUI applications, numeric IDs remain the only means to refer to recordings when you access VTO s voice management capabilities over the phone. VT Manager and the VT Server Control Panel always display numeric IDs of the voice files along with their descriptive names. Importing and Managing Recordings There are several reasons why you may prefer to import audio files. Perhaps you have already produced your IVR audio files, and do not need new ones. Alternatively, you may want to have your recordings produced by professional voice actors. Existing audio recordings may be imported into VTO: either locally - using the VT Server Control Panel; or remotely through the VT Manager's Manage Voice Files and Actions function. In the latter case, users of VT Manager must have read/write network access to the VT Server's Voice and Program directories. Both methods provide the same functionality and have a similar user interface. Though this section describes the use of the VT Server Control Panel, everything stated here is also applicable to the use of the VT Manager's Manage Voice Files and Actions feature. 84 Voice Treatment Option 7

85 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings Recording Formats and Encoding Parameters Before importing voice files into VTO, make sure that the files you are going to import are: In the proper format; and Contain recordings digitized with the sampling rates and encoded with the algorithms supported by the underlying software and hardware. If your recordings are not in the supported format or are digitized with unsupported recording parameters, you must convert them prior to importing them into VTO. VTO imports voice files and, while playing them back, submits the files to the underlying subsystem for playback in the files original format and encoding. No verification of the format or encoding parameters is performed. Importing does not change the file format or the internal content of imported files. If VTO attempts to play back a file in an unsupported format or with unsupported recording parameters, the playback either plays distorted sounds, or fails completely. Most Dialogic systems support Dialogic native VOX and Windows WAV formats. Only monophonic recordings digitized at 6, 8, and KHz are supported. Usually, supported encodings are: linear PCM Dialogic (OKI) ADPCM Mu-law (analog and T1 cards) A-law (analog and E1 cards) Different Dialogic boards support different subsets of recording algorithms and sampling rates. Refer to the documentation for your specific Dialogic board for details on supported recording parameters. For the VTO Demo Mode, which uses Windows native sound subsystem, imported files must be in WAV format. The files must contain recordings encoded with the algorithms and digitized with the sampling rates supported by any sound codec installed on the system. If you are able to play back a file with the default Windows playback application, VTO will play it in Demo Mode too. Note: Dialogic does not support Microsoft ADPCM encoding. Any attempt to playback files enclosed with MS ADPCM through Dialogic produces a distorted sound. The recommended format is WAV containing monophonic linear PCM digitized at 8 or KHz. These recordings are played back by most Dialogic cards and by the default Windows codecs. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 85

86 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings Importing Existing Recordings To import existing recordings to the computer where VT Server is running, use the VT Server Control Panel. This can also be done remotely with the VT Manager's Manage Voice Files and Actions function. Service Providers in a multi-tenant environment must import their tenants files for them, and convey either numeric IDs or names of newly imported files to the tenant customer. The customer will later be able to identify and configure new voice files to suit their needs using VT Manager. To import pre-recorded voice files, open the VT Server Control Panel, make sure that VT Server is running, and perform the following procedure: 1. On the VT Server Control Panel, select the Voice Files tab, as shown in Figure 42. Figure 42: Control Panel, Voice Files Tab 2. If you are a multi-tenant administrator, select the appropriate name in the Tenant name box. Only the tenant you select will be able to use the files you are importing. Note: This box is visible to both multi-tenant and standard users. If you are not working in a multi-tenant environment, disregard this field. 3. Click Import New... to open the Import Voice Files dialog box (see Figure 43 on page 87). 86 Voice Treatment Option 7

87 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings Figure 43: Import Voice Files Dialog Box 4. Click Browse to locate the files to import. You can select more than one file at a time. 5. Select the format of the files you are importing: VOX or WAV. 6. If the files you select are in VOX format, you must specify the encoding algorithm and the sampling rate used for recording. WAV files store this information internally, so you do not have to enter it. 7. After selecting the voice data properties, click Import. VT Server copies the selected files into its Voice directory, gives them unique names, registers them in Configuration Server, and triggers replication of the imported files to all running VT Servers which serve the selected tenant. After the files are imported, the Control Panel displays the range of voice IDs assigned to the imported files. These file names automatically appear in the Unconfigured Voices folder in VT Manager. You can and should rename a newly imported voice file immediately, to have its name reflect the content of the file. You do this using the Voice File Properties dialog box. Service Providers must provide their tenant customers with the IDs or the names of new voice files so that the customers can identify the files in VT Manager and verify the recordings by listening to them over the phone. After the files are imported and renamed, you or your tenant must configure them in VT Manager. This includes assigning the voice files logical properties and defining their behavior within the scripts. See the Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Manger User s Guide for instructions. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 87

88 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings Importing Number Sets Unlike regular voice files which normally represent single recordings (with possible alternative versions - see details below), Number Sets are special voice files that represent the sets of recordings containing recorded digits, numbers, and special words. Number Sets are used within VTO scripts to playback digits on the telephone keypad, numeric, and time values. A regular voice file entered into VTO becomes Unconfigured in VT Manager. Its type can be changed later according to its content and intended use within the scripts. In contrast, a newly acquired Number Set is registered as a voice file of the Digits type. Its appears in the Digits folder in VT Manager and its type cannot be changed. While regular voice recordings are kept in VTO s storage as usual files, Number Sets are stored within subdirectories, where individual recordings are identified by their predetermined file names. To be considered complete, the directory representing the Number Set should contain at least 34 recordings. The file names contained in the Number Set directory should be exactly as shown in Table 5. The extension depends on the file format:.vox or.wav. Table 5: Mandatory Elements for the Number Set Mandatory Elements 0.vox - 9.vox 11.vox - 20.vox 30.vox, 40.vox,..., 90.vox s.vox, p.vox min.vox, mns.vox, sec.vox, scs.vox Description Contain recordings of digits Contain recordings of corresponding numbers Contain recordings of corresponding numbers, which in combination with digits can be used to play back any numeric value from 0 to 99 Contain recordings of the phone keys, Star and Pound Contain recordings of the words, minute, minutes, second, seconds, used with digits and numbers to play back time values from 0 seconds to 99 minutes 59 seconds A digit set that does not contain all the listed files is considered incomplete. When VTO attempts to use an incomplete Number Set to play back numbers and time values used within a script, the absence of expected digits can cause 88 Voice Treatment Option 7

89 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings errors. If VT Server encounters an incomplete Number Set when voice files are loaded at startup, the corresponding warning is logged. Besides the mandatory elements listed above, Number Sets may also contain prerecorded numbers and optional elements used to extend the range of numbers that VTO can play back. Table 6: Optional Elements for the Number Set Optional Elements minus.vox hundred.vox thousand.vox thousands.vox hundreds.vox Description used to prefix negative numeric values used to construct values up to 999,999 in the way they are constructed in English used to pronounce hundred in plural, for languages where this is applicable You must import the Number Set from a directory originally containing at least all the files listed in Table 5, Mandatory Elements for the Number Set, on page 88. The directory must not contain any files other than the recordings meant for importing into VTO. How VTO plays back a number depends on the availability of whole prerecorded numbers. When the number is being played back by the VTO script using the specified Digits voice file, VT Server first checks the Number Set directory for the presence of the whole recorded number by looking for the file named: <number>.<format> where <number> is the number to be played back and <format> is either.vox of.vaw. During number playback: If the file is found, VT Server uses it to play back the number. If the file is not found, and the number is in the range of 0 and 99, VTO constructs the number from the parts (mandatory elements of the set of numbers). If the number is outside the range, VTO plays back the number as a sequence of digits. To import a Number Set, follow the same procedure you used to import regular recordings. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 89

90 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings 1. In the Importing Voice Files dialog box, instead clicking Browse to locate the files, click the Directory button and select the directory containing the number of recordings to be imported. Note: While importing Number Sets, the VT Server Control Panel does not check the validity of the directory s content or the completeness of the imported set. If you import an incomplete set, the server logs out with a corresponding warning. Renaming and Modifying Voice File Properties You can rename individual voice files and modify their properties by selecting a single voice file in the list of registered voice files and clicking Properties (see Figure 44). The Voice File Properties dialog box also enables you to append, modify and delete alternative language recordings for existing voice files. Figure 44: Voice File Properties Dialog Box Creating Language Recordings Each voice file has at least one recording, which corresponds to its default sound. However, a voice file may have any number of alternate recordings which are used mainly for creating multilingual scripts. Alternate recordings can also be used to keep short or long recording versions, or different gender voices. These alternate recordings are called alternate language versions. Alternate recordings are identified by their assigned Language IDs. When replaying the scripts, VT Server uses the content of the special script 90 Voice Treatment Option 7

91 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Importing and Managing Recordings _LANGUAGE_ variable to select the alternate recording to be played back. If the _LANGUAGE_ variable is not set, or the voice file has no corresponding recording, the default recording is played back. To make alternate language recordings available for rerecording through the phone, assign numerical Language IDs. To import and add an alternate language version to the voice file: 1. Click New in the Voice File Properties dialog box (see Figure 44, Voice File Properties Dialog Box, on page 90). The Recording Properties dialog box opens (see Figure 45), which is similar to the Import Voice Files dialog box. Deleting Voice Files Figure 45: Recording Properties Dialog Box 2. Type the Language ID in the corresponding field, click Browse to locate the recording source file, and select the recording parameters in their respective fields. You can delete a voice file as long it is not used in a script. Neither the VT Server Control Panel nor VT Manager permits deletion of a voice incorporated in a script. Always delete unwanted voice files through the VT Server Control Panel or VT Manager. Deleting a voice file causes all VT Servers in your system to delete their copies of the recording. When all VT Servers delete their copies, the voice file descriptor is deleted from the configuration. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 91

92 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Recording and Managing Voice Files over the Phone Warning! Never delete any file in the VT Server s Voice directory directly, using standard file management tools. Also, do not delete any object from the Scripts folder in Configuration Manager. This may damage scripts, uncontrolled recording files or configuration objects. Recording and Managing Voice Files over the Phone With VTO, you can record new voice files and manage them over the phone, providing the following advantages: You can verify imported voice files by listening to them. You can create the files and manage them remotely without a physical or network access to VT Server s computer. You can rerecord frequently changed messages like break-in news, played back by VTO scripts, over the phone and make them effective immediately. Note: The sound quality of files recorded remotely by phone is typically less than that of studio-recorded audio files. When you record voice files remotely, you are actually invoking and running VT Server s built-in voice-recording and -editing script. This VTO script is logically similar to the ones you can build with VT Manager. Unlike regular scripts, this script is built-in into VT Server and is not represented by any object in the configuration. You cannot view or modify it with VT Manager. The voice recordings it uses are installed with VT Server, are not represented as the voice files in the configuration and are inaccessible through VT Manager. Setting Up The Voice Recording Script When you record voice files remotely, you are invoking and running the VT Server built-in voice-recording and -editing script. This VTO script is similar to the ones you will build, which can be run at all VT ports. Always Use Enterprise Routing If you dial a VT port directly, unless VT Server is explicitly configured otherwise, it triggers the recording script because such calls do not specify a script that VTO should play to them. However, when you (or your tenants) dial these VT ports targeted by a production routing strategy directly, there is no 92 Voice Treatment Option 7

93 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Recording and Managing Voice Files over the Phone way to ensure that the VT port is available. The port can be applying a treatment to another call, and you will receive a busy signal. Conversely, Universal Routing Server (URS) may also inadvertently send a call to a VT port that is busy serving direct calls. Although URS never knowingly sends a call to a busy port, a slight delay exists between the time that the port answers a direct call and the time URS is notified about the port s busy status. If another call comes to URS for routing within that time-delay, the routed call gets a busy signal. To avoid this, always send calls to VTO via a route point with the loaded routing strategy. That way you can ensure that the calls are sent to an available VT Port and so prevent URS from routing calls to busy ports. To have VTO apply the built-in script to a call routed by URS, attach the Myscript=0 to the call data in the routing strategy,. For more information, see Routing with Scripts in the Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Manager User s Guide. Note to Service Providers In a multi-tenant environment, to allow your customers and tenants to record their own voices with the dial-in recording script, do the following in advance: Register persons authorized to use VTO s dial-in voice recording and management capability as VTO operators in the configuration. Provide each tenant with the appropriate phone number (normally the route point that is loaded with the routing strategy to send calls to VTO with the request to play the built-in script), the operator s Person ID, and, for the operators allowed to managed recordings for multiple Tenants, the IDs of those Tenants. Provide your customers with a toll free number (800) that allows them to record and manage their recordings with no assistance from you. Using the Built-in Voice Recording and Editing Script The built-in Voice Recording and Editing Script is designed for use with an instance VT Manager that lacks physical or network access to the hosts running VT Servers. Used with VT Manager, you can create and manage VTO recordings, and then use them to build fully functional VTO scripts. The script s functionality is described in detail in the Voice Treatment Option 7 Voice Treatment Manager User s Guide. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 93

94 Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Voice Files Recording and Managing Voice Files over the Phone Changing the Script Design You cannot change the logic of VTO s built-in Voice Recording and Editing Script. However, using VT Manager, you can design your own recording scripts (functionally similar or more advanced) and use them instead of the built-in script. All actions used internally by the built-in script are exposed as built-in actions in the VT Server Control Panel. They must be registered in the VT Server Control Panel to make them available in your Actions folder in VT Manager. For further information, see Chapter 8, Registering Actions, page 99. To expand the functionality of your recording script beyond the capabilities provided by the built-in actions, you can create your own extension actions and register them with the VT Server Control Panel, as described in Chapter 7, Extension Actions on page Voice Treatment Option 7

95 Chapter 7 Extension Actions This chapter describes extension actions and provides information on how to implement them. It includes the following sections: Extension Actions, page 95 Implementing Extension Actions, page 96 Important Programming Considerations, page 97 Extension Action Example, page 97 Extension Actions Extension actions allow you to extend the set of available VTO actions without having to modify either VT Server or VT Manager. Essentially, they are customized actions you can write to incorporate various sophisticated datahandling functions into your scripts. Extension actions are implemented as DLLs, and require programming knowledge and experience in creating and using custom DLLs. There is no mechanism for creating extension actions in either the VT Server Control Panel or the VT Manager GUI. Once created, however, you can register them in the Actions tab of the VT Server Control Panel. Each Extension Action DLL supports the operation of one or more extension actions. VT Server loads Extension DLLs at runtime, while executing any VT scripts that use those actions, and calls a specific exported function to perform that action. Extension actions are run in the context of VTO scripts, and occupy script nodes just as basic actions do. Extension actions can exchange data with other nodes in the script and influence the execution of the script in two ways: By obtaining and changing values of script variables. By returning a result code, which VT Server uses to trigger the script execution flow. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 95

96 Chapter 7: Extension Actions Implementing Extension Actions About Result Codes Each action returns one of a predefined set of result codes. VT Server uses result codes to trigger the script execution flow. In particular, the script determines which voice file is played or which action is executed next, depending on the result returned by the previous action. Every time VT Server runs a script, it creates a separate variable space. Script variables are strings. Playing certain types of voices and performing actions may set the values of script variables to pass their results to the subsequent actions of the script. Each instance of an action in a script is supplied with a set of parameters representing either script variables or literal constants. By specifying values to be passed to an action, a script designer allows an action to access the result of any previously executed action in the script. Changing the value of passed parameters allows an action to change script variables, and in this manner pass its results to subsequent actions in the script. Implementing Extension Actions Parameters The functionality of an extension action is implemented in a DLL exported function prototyped in EAExt.h as: EAEXTRUN EAExRunAction([const] char* Param1,..., [const] char* ParamN); EAExRunAction is a placeholder for the actual function name. You must enter the actual function s export name in the Export text box on the Actions tab while registering an extension action. VT Server can pass a number of string parameters to the EAExRunAction function. The developer of an action specifies the number of parameters and their types. The type of parameter can be defined as input, output or input/ output. After a call to EAExRunAction, input parameters receive either values of script internal variables or literal strings. Actual values passed to the function are defined by the script node that uses the action. EAExRunAction cannot modify input parameters. Output parameters are always bound to script internal variables. By modifying the content of the buffer pointed to by the EAExRunAction parameter, the value of the bound variable is modified. The modified string may not exceed the maximum length specified for the parameter. 96 Voice Treatment Option 7

97 Chapter 7: Extension Actions Important Programming Considerations Return Values Input/output parameters are also bound to script variables and may be used to both read and write the value. When you register extension actions, you must enter these parameters in the Parameters list on the Actions tab of the VT Server Control Panel. EAExRunAction must return one of the enumerated values listed in EANodeResult enum defined in EAExt.h. The script execution flow is triggered depending on the value returned by this function according to the script definition. All possible return values must be listed in the Returns field of the Actions tab. Important Programming Considerations The VT Server implementation is substantially multi-threaded. Each channel runs on its own thread. Functions that implement extension actions are called on the channel s thread. Therefore, functions that implement extension actions must be thread-safe. These functions perform relatively lengthy operations that block execution for a few seconds without harming the functionality of the VT Server as a whole. The extension action functions must raise no exceptions. The VT Server Extension DLLs run in the same process as the server. Therefore, errors in DLL implementation can affect the functionality of the entire server. Each Extension DLL must be linked with a Multi-threaded DLL at runtime. Note: Genesys strongly recommends, that prior to deploying your own extension action, you test it by running it with the code similar to the one shown in Sample Test for Extension Action DLLs on page 135. Extension Action Example The VT Server setup installs a sample implementation of a simple extension action named FileLookup. This sample action looks up tab-delimited text in a key-value file for the specified key and, if found, places the corresponding value into the script variable. The action is implemented by the function: EAEXTRUN FileLookup(const char* FileName, const char* Key, char* Value); Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 97

98 Chapter 7: Extension Actions Extension Action Example The first input parameter expects the name of the file in which to look. The second input parameter expects the key. If the lookup is successful, the function returns True and places the resulting value into the script variable pointed to by the third output parameter. Otherwise, the function returns False. To make a custom sample action available for use in your scripts, extract the file called FileLookup.DLL from the ZIP file, ExtSample.ZIP, placed by the VT Server Setup in the VT Server s directory, and register it with the following attributes shown in Table 7. Table 7: Sample DLL Properties Property Description Type: Name: DLL: Export: Returns: External Look up in the key-value file FileLookup.DLL FileLookup TF (Possible returns must be entered without delimiters or blanks.) Parameters Name FileName Key Value Type In In Out Max 256 ExtSample.ZIP also contains sample implementation of several string and arithmetic operations which could be used, as is, to extend the functionality of VTO Scripts. 98 Voice Treatment Option 7

99 Chapter 8 Registering Actions Actions Tab This chapter provides information on registering actions. It includes the following sections: Actions Tab, page 99 Built-In Actions, page 100 Extension Actions, page 101 Unregistering Actions, page 103 The VT Server Control Panel provides an interface where you can start and stop VT Server and redefine configuration settings (the General tab), as well as import existing audio files as new voices (the Import Voice tab). The Control Panel provides a third set of functions, which involves registering actions. You do this through the Actions tab (see Table 46, Control Panel, Actions Tab, on page 100). Registering actions means making them available that is, visible in the Actions folder of VT Manager for use in building scripts. In a multi-tenant environment, registration is tenant-specific, which allows Service Providers to make more sophisticated actions available for use by some tenants but not others. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 99

100 Chapter 8: Registering Actions Built-In Actions Figure 46: Control Panel, Actions Tab VT Server recognizes three types of actions: Basic, Built-In, and Extension. Basic actions are the three actions available to all users: Transfer, Hang Up, and Return. You do not need to register these actions to use them. Extension actions are custom actions that you must develop and implement through DLLs. (For further information, see Chapter 7, Extension Actions, page 95.) Built-In actions are a set of actions used internally by VT Server. They are not immediately exposed within the VTO environment. However, if necessary, you can expose them for general use by importing them into the VTO environment via the VT Server Control Panel. This is referred to as registering. Both built-in and extension actions must be registered before you can use them. The procedure for doing this is described in the following sections. Built-In Actions To register built-in actions: 1. If you are in a multi-tenant environment, in the Tenant Name drop-down list on the Actions tab, select the tenant for whom you want to register an action. The Control Panel displays all actions registered for the selected tenant. 100 Voice Treatment Option 7

101 Chapter 8: Registering Actions Extension Actions 2. Click Register New. The Action Properties dialog box appears (see Figure 47). Figure 47: Actions Tab, Actions Properties Dialog Box 3. Select an action type from the Type drop-down list. 4. Assign a name for the action in the Name field, as you want it to appear in the VT Manager. 5. Click Browse to select the DLL file, FileLookup.DLL, for the DLL field. 6. Click OK. The registered custom action immediately appears in the Actions folder of VT Manager. Extension Actions To register extension actions: 1. Follow Steps 1 to 4 listed in the previous section. 2. In the Type drop-down list, select External. 3. Click Browse to select the external DLL, which you have developed. 4. Specify the attributes of this extension action in the Parameters field. Information on attributes is provided in Table 8, DLL Properties, on page 102. If you do not know these attributes, the developer who created the DLL can provide them. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 101

102 Chapter 8: Registering Actions Extension Actions Table 8: DLL Properties Parameter Description Example Export Export name of the EAExRunAction function that implements the action. FileLookup Returns A string contains possible return values from the action; this can be a subset of the following values: TF 0 9,*,# F,T false, true O timeout E error (List all possible returns without delimiters or blanks.) Parameters Formal parameters passed to the EAExRunAction function. Each parameter has a name, type, and output parameters. You must also supply a maximum size. Name FileName Key Value Type In In Out Max Click New (to the right of the Parameters field) to add a parameter to the parameters list. Enter the parameter name, type, and length in the Parameters field. 6. To remove a parameter from the list, select the parameter in the list and click Delete and then click OK. 7. Click OK. VT Server copies the DLL into its program directory, registers it in Configuration Server, and replicates the DLL on all VT Servers that serve the selected tenant. The registered action immediately appears in the Actions folder of VT Manager. 102 Voice Treatment Option 7

103 Chapter 8: Registering Actions Unregistering Actions Unregistering Actions As long as an action is not used in any script, you can unregister it using the Actions tab. 1. In the Tenant Name drop-down list, select the tenant for whom you want to unregister an action. The Control Panel displays the list of actions already registered for this tenant. 2. Select the action in the list and click Unregister. VT Server removes the registration from the Configuration Database. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 103

104 Chapter 8: Registering Actions Unregistering Actions 104 Voice Treatment Option 7

105 Appendix A Monitoring and Logging This appendix provides information on monitoring and logging VT Server activity. It includes the following sections: Monitoring Through the Management Layer, page 105 Logging, page 105 SNMP Monitoring, page 106 Monitoring Through the Management Layer VT Server is fully compliant with the Genesys Management Layer. The Management Layer can be used for managing and monitoring VT Server activity. (See the Framework 7 Management Layer User s Guide.) Logging For monitoring and troubleshooting purposes, you can configure VT Server to log its activity. To do this, VT Server employs the Genesys standard logging subsystem. The log may be written to a file or the log database. VT Server does not support logging in the console except when it is running in the debug mode (as a console application). For details on logging configuration, see the Framework 7 Combined Log Events Help. For further information about logging subsystem options, refer to the Framework 7 Configuration Options Reference Manual, Chapter 2: Common Log Options. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 105

106 Appendix A: Monitoring and Logging SNMP Monitoring Before VT Server connects to Configuration Server, it uses the following defaults: verbose=standard all=easerver.log buffering=no segment=no As soon as VT Server connects to Configuration Server, reads its configuration object, and caches it locally in the registry, the configuration logging options take effect over the startup defaults. The next time VT Server starts, it will use the previously cached options until it connects to the Configuration Server. Note: When troubleshooting VT Server or reporting problems to Genesys Technical Support, it is important to analyze the VT Server log along with the T-Server and Configuration Server logs, which each reflect concurrent events. SNMP Monitoring VT Server s Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) extension agent provides a hierarchy of management objects you can use to start and stop the server and to monitor its operation. The VT Server s SNMP management objects represent the state of VT Server s internal objects that are most important to its functionality. These objects are the connections to Configuration Server, to one or more T-Servers, and to the voice channels. 106 Voice Treatment Option 7

107 Appendix A: Monitoring and Logging SNMP Monitoring Table 9: The VT Server MIB Table 9 lists the SNMP management object MIB (Management Information Base) tree. Object Property ID Type R/W Description eas_server eas_serverstatus INTEGER r/w VT Server status 0 down 1 up eas_serverstatuschangetrap TRAP eas_serverhost STRING VT Server host eas_serverport STRING VT Server port (currently reserved, = 0) eas_cfgserver eas_cfgserverstatus INTEGER Status of connection to Configuration Server 0 VT Server not connected to Configuration Server 1 VT Server connected to Configuration Server eas_cfgserverstatuschangetrap TRAP eas_cfgserverhost STRING Configuration Server host eas_cfgserverport STRING Configuration Server port Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 107

108 Appendix A: Monitoring and Logging SNMP Monitoring Table 9: The VT Server MIB (Continued) Object Property ID Type R/W Description eas_tservers eas_tserversnumservers INTEGER Number of T-Servers configured to connect to eas_tserversnumconnected INTEGER Number of T-Servers actually connected eas_tserverstable SEQUENCE OF eas_tserver Entry Table of T-Servers configured to connect to eas_tserver Entry eas_tserverstatus INTEGER Status of connection to T-Server 0 not connected 1 connected eas_tserverstatuschangetrap TRAP eas_tserverdbid LONG T-Server application DBID eas_tservername STRING T-Server application name eas_tserverhost STRING T-Server host eas_tserverport STRING T-Server port eas_channels eas_channelsnumchannels INTEGER Number of available channels eas_channelsnumbusychannels INTEGER Number of busy channels eas_channelsnumiidlechannels INTEGER Number of idle channels eas_channelstable SEQUENCE OF eas_channel Entry Table of available channels 108 Voice Treatment Option 7

109 Appendix A: Monitoring and Logging SNMP Monitoring Table 9: The VT Server MIB (Continued) Object Property ID Type R/W Description eas_channel Entry eas_channelnumber INTEGER Channel number eas_channelstatus INTEGER Channel status 0 unused (not configured to serve any DN) 1 not operational (no T-Server connection or channel hardware failure) 2 idle 3 busy eas_channeldndbid LONG DBID of DN currently served by the channel, 0 if channel unused eas_channeldnnumber STRING Served DN number, "" if unused eas_channeltserverdbid LONG DBID of T-Server serving the DN, "" if channel unused eas_channeltservername STRING T-Server Name, "" if channel unused eas_channelscriptdbid LONG DBID of script currently being played on channel, 0 if channel unused or idle eas_channelscriptname STRING Name of played script, 0 if channel unused or idle Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 109

110 Appendix A: Monitoring and Logging SNMP Monitoring 110 Voice Treatment Option 7

111 Appendix B VTO Demo Mode This appendix describes VTO Demo Mode. It includes the following sections: Simulating VTO Functionality, page 111 Configuring and Installing VTServer for Demo Mode, page 113 Using VTO in Demo Mode, page 114 Simulating VTO Functionality The VTO Demo Mode simulates VTO functionality (normally performed through a Dialogic board) using the Windows native audio subsystem and a user interface application to simulate the caller s phone set. The VTO Demo Mode is designed to operate within the Genesys Express simulated environment and requires both a Generic T-Server and a Generic Switch Simulator. Note: To run VTO in Demo Mode outside the Express environment, Generic T-Server and Generic Switch Simulator must be installed and in operation. For more information on these components, refer to the 6.5 Gplus Simulator Test Toolkit Generic T-Server Reference Manual and 6.5 Gplus Simulator Test Toolkit User s Guide documents. The purpose of the VTO Demo Mode is to: Provide a demonstration of VTO capabilities to potential customers Educate users in the use of VTO within the Genesys solution Create VTO recordings through the Windows native audio services without having to use Dialogic hardware and software Test VTO scripts independent of Dialogic hardware and software Include VTO in the Genesys Express simulated environment Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 111

112 Appendix B: VTO Demo Mode Simulating VTO Functionality Figure 48: VTO Demo Mode VTO Demo Mode models incoming calls through the user interface component, VTPhone, imitating the caller s phone set. VTPhone generates calls via communication with the Generic T-Server. Generated calls are then handled by the components of the Express simulated environment - Switch Simulator, Generic T-Server, and optionally, Universal Routing Server. The generated call is logically processed by the simulated environment as if it were a real call, including attaching data and applying routing strategies. The simulated call is then delivered to VT Server for treatment. VT Server treats incoming calls using the same scripts and voice recordings as it would a real call. VT Server uses the Windows audio subsystem to perform voice playback and recording for the call. The caller s Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) input is simulated by VTPhone and is communicated to VT Server directly. VT Server processes DTMF input the same way as it does the DTMF input recognized by a Dialogic board. 112 Voice Treatment Option 7

113 Appendix B: VTO Demo Mode Configuring and Installing VTServer for Demo Mode While the call is being processed by the simulated environment and treated by VT Server, VTPhone monitors and displays its state and attached data. The simulated call may be: Terminated using VTPhone (simulating the caller s hang up). Transferred by a VTO script for further processing by other components of the simulated environment. Transferred by the Universal Routing Server for further processing. Configuring and Installing VTServer for Demo Mode To run in Demo Mode, it is recommended that the VT Server be installed on a computer that is equipped with a sound card, speakers, and microphone. Configuring and installing VT Server to run in Demo Mode follows the same series of steps as when configuring and installing for regular mode. However, there are some key differences. On the "Voice Connection Type" page of the Voice Treatment Server Configuration Wizard (See Genesys VT Server Wizard Voice Connection Type on page 39), select the "Simulation through the sound card" option. When adding channels on the "Voice Channels" Wizard page (Figure 16, Genesys VT Server Wizard Voice Channels, on page 40), the channel numbers of the simulated channels have to be negative, starting with -1. Simulated channels should be associated with the DNs of the simulated Switch served by the Generic T-Server coupled with a Generic Switch Simulator. Do not associate simulated channels with the DNs of the real Switch. You may configure multiple simulated channels, numbering them - 1, -2, and so on. By default, output from all configured channels are mixed into the default audio output. See Configuring Multiple Demo Channels on page 141 for the details of this behavior. When specifying recording options on the Recording Format page (Figure 26, Genesys VT Server Wizard Recording Options, on page 52), select WAV file format. VOX format is not supported by the Windows multimedia sub-system. To share recordings between Demo and Real Telephony modes, the selected Encoding, Sampling Rate and Bits per Sample setting should be supported by both Windows multimedia and Dialogic hardware. The most common selection would be Linear PCM 8 or 11KHz. If VT Server is installed to run in only Demo Mode, the Dialogic hardware and software is not required. The dependency on the Dialogic service is disabled. Simulated VTO channels do not require licenses. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 113

114 Appendix B: VTO Demo Mode Using VTO in Demo Mode Using VTO in Demo Mode To use VTO in Demo Mode: 1. Open the VT Server control panel. See Figure 49.. Figure 49: VTS Server Control Panel 2. Indicate the Local Startup Settings. Verify the following information: Application name Host name of the computer on which Configuration Server is running Port used to connect to the Configuration Server Select the Startup type. 3. Start VT Server. See Figure 50 on page Voice Treatment Option 7

115 Appendix B: VTO Demo Mode Using VTO in Demo Mode Figure 50: Starting VT Server 4. Start VTPhone using the shortcut from Start > Programs > Genesys Solutions > Voice Treatment Option > Genesys Voice Treatment Server and log in to the configuration with the same settings as you would use for VT Manager. See Figure 51 on page 116. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 115

116 Appendix B: VTO Demo Mode Using VTO in Demo Mode Figure 51: VTPhone Login Dialog Box After a successful login, VTPhone displays. See Figure 52. Figure 52: VTPhone 116 Voice Treatment Option 7

117 Appendix B: VTO Demo Mode Using VTO in Demo Mode 5. Using the Browse button to the right of the This Number drop-down list (see Figure 53), select an Extension DN simulated by the Switch Simulator. This number will be used by VTPhone as its own number, the number from which you will be placing calls. VTPhone registers the number to monitor This Number with T-Server. If the registration is successful, VTPhone displays the Ready status. 6. Using the Browse button to the right of the Destination drop-down list (see Figure 53), select a call destination. This should be a DN on the simulated switch. Do not attempt to place calls to the real telephony DNs. Calls may be placed either directly to the simulated Voice Treatment Ports or to the simulated Routing Points managed by the Universal Routing Server. In the latter instance, the Routing Point you are calling is expected to process the call in a way that finally puts it to a VTPort. 7. Optionally, with the Browse button to the right of the Script drop-down list (see Figure 53), you may select the VTO Script to be run when the call arrives at VTO. If the call goes through the Routing Point, the strategy may be to substitute the calls attached data so that VTO runs another script. If you do not specify the script, depending on its configuration, VT Server runs the default script, the default script for the channel or the built-in recording script, the same way as it does with the regular channels. Figure 53: VTPhone-This Number, Destination, and Script Drop-down Lists 8. To initiate the call, click the Call button. VTPhone monitors the call and displays the attached data to the right of the keypad. The call status display in the status line above the keypad. Voice Treatment Server User s Guide 117

118 Appendix B: VTO Demo Mode Using VTO in Demo Mode As the call reaches a Voice Treatment Port, VTServer serving the port starts to run the script using the sound subsystem. VTPhone connects to the VT Server that is serving the VTPort reached by the call. If the connection is successful, the keypad is enabled. See Figure 54. VTPhone is then ready to pass simulated DTMFs to the VT Server. Figure 54: VTPhone-Keypad Enabled 9. Use the keypad as you would a regular phone. The script reacts to the keys you press as it would the DTMFs generated by a regular phone. See Figure 55. Figure 55: VTPhone in Use 10. To hang up the call at any time, click the Hang up button. See Figure Voice Treatment Option 7